


Redemption

by sassyhawkeye



Series: The Duke Chronicles [2]
Category: Gears of War (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2016-01-12
Packaged: 2018-04-27 04:24:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5033647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassyhawkeye/pseuds/sassyhawkeye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Brothers to the End"</p><p>Sequel to Revelations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Songs of Mercy

"Dizzy, I thought you said this place was occupied."  
Dom hopped out of the back of the pick-up, glancing around at the town of Mercy. It was eerily quiet, the only signs of disturbance coming from their trucks- if Mercy had any kind of population, they kept very well hidden.  
"Yeah, this place was busier than a fiddler's elbow a few months ago," Dizzy said, his accent thicker when he was troubled or confused. He pulled off his worn cowboy hat and scratched his head as he looked around, a frown settling on his face.  
"People don't abandon a fuel depot for no reason," he said, turning to face the group. Marcus only grunted stoically, although Dom could tell something was on his mind- something about this felt all sorts of wrong.  
"Okay," he said after a beat, turning to Anya, Jace, and Sam. "Keep an eye out for grubs. We may need to get out fast." Dizzy turned away from the group as Marcus gave his instructions, wandering over to a rusted red box.  
"Well, shit," he exclaimed, slapping his hat against his thigh. "Looks like they shut down the main pump."  
"Well, the controls have to be somewhere along this pipeline," Dom reasoned, pointing down the line. Dizzy muttered something that seemed to be consent, peering down the line as far as he could.  
"Dizzy, Jace, you stay here," Marcus ordered, ever the sergeant. "We'll go check out the town." Dizzy and Jace voiced affirmatives as Marcus waved for the others to fall in. Dom came in on his right, Anya on his left, with Sam pulling up the rear. They entered the town low and fast, lancers up and trigger fingers ready. They could all feel it- the deep, inate sense that something was terribly, terribly wrong.  
"Hello," Sam called out, her voice reverberating through the still, dead air. "Anybody home? We just need some fuel!" The path before them was blocked- Marcus pointed them to an old, rusty door at the side of the building next to them, his foot crashing through it like metal through wet tissue paper. Dom couldn't help but let his eyes wander, picking out vaguely familiar sights that made him both elated and extremely sick. There were memories here, far more personal than he'd like to handle. Sam came up a little closer, seeming to sense his distress.  
"When were you last here, Dom?" Her voice came out soft and low, her eyes flickering across the area before them. He shrugged almost uncomfortably, tallying up the years in his mind.  
"Fifteen years...," he finally said, the numbers seeming about right. "Maria's family- they're buried near the church. I wanted to bury her and the kids there, but..." The words had come out before he could stop them, and they left a huge, aching hole in his chest. He actually winced, the pain swift and deep and merciless. He shoved the thoughts aside, a steely resolve settling over him, but not before Sam could give him a sympathetic look. He only nodded and looked straight ahead, keeping his gaze just off of Marcus' shoulder. He needed to stay in the moment- now was not the time to grieve.  
They continued on in relative silence, following the pipeline while keeping eyes on their surroundings. Mercy was completely deserted, it seemed, and the difference between now and the place he'd known fifteen years ago was disconcerting and a bit scary.  
"Hey, wait," Sam suddenly said, pulling the group to a stop. "Look, the pipeline's rigged." Dom caught sight of a device attached to the pipes, and paled- he knew an improvised explosive when he saw one.  
"Stay sharp, people, could be an ambush," Marcus growled, his lancer held at the ready as he approached the device cautiously.  
"Look out, it's got a motion sensor," Anya said, as the device beeped. Marcus dropped his Lancer and hurriedly disarmed the bomb, grunting as he finished the work and got back to his feet. Dom exhaled, relief flooding through him.  
"Well... so far, so good," Sam said grimly, as they moved away from the explosive and continued to follow the line.  
"There's no signs of fighting... or grubs," Anya noted, sounding worried. They were all thinking of the same possibilities- ambush, either from grubs, lambent, or crazed Stranded.  
"Look, another charge," Sam hissed. They fanned out to cover Marcus as he disarmed the device yet again. Dom felt something crawl down his spine, and he knew he was being watched- but from where, or by whom, he couldn't tell. The town was too still, too cluttered with debris and dilapitated buildings that he couldn't spot a clear threat.  
"Clear," Marcus said, and the group moved out, along a walkway that showed more of the town beneath them.  
"Marcus, we've got another charge," Sam said, having taken point. She had a quicker, keener eye than Marcus, and was apparently very good at finding the explosives.  
"Someone obviously wanted to blow some shit up," Marcus grumbled, as he finished disarming the bomb. They went up another set of steps and around a corner, and were met by the sound of a gunshot tearing through the air.  
"Take cover," Marcus roared, as the four instinctively found a place to hide. High caliber weapon, maybe a sniper rifle, Dom's mind snapped out, as he peered around for the threat. An old man in threadbare clothes stood in the middle of the courtyard before them, a gun craddled in his arms like it was a child. "Hey, check fire," Marcus shouted at him. "We're Gears!"  
"Get your hands off those goddamn charges," he snapped at them, obviously agitated. Marcus growled, and before Dom could stop him, he stepped out into the open, his eyes narrowed and fixed on the man.  
"Did you rig those pipelines," he asked accusingly. "You wanna blow this place up?"  
"Yeah! I gotta stop this thing from spreading," the old man cried out, and Dom could hear the desperation in his voice as he backed away from Marcus. "Just let me get on with the job!" He staggered back into the building behind him and struggled to pull the door shut as the others came out of cover.  
"What thing," Dom asked skeptically. "You got an epidemic?"  
"How the hell should I know what it is?" The old man continued to struggle with the door, pausing when it was almost closed. "It's, it's, it' some kind of.... fever! People started burnin' up, screamin' and fightin', going crazy!" Dom and Marcus exchanged glances- this was news. "I'll be damned if I'm going to turn up like that, like some rabid dog, not even human anymore!" Dom could hear the desperation in his voice, how frantic he was, which told him how dire the situation must be. Marcus approached the door before the man could close it, grabbing the edge and pushing it back open easily.  
"You better come with us," he said, towering over the man as he scrambled back. "We can get you some help."  
"No, it's too late," the man screamed in terror, the whites of his eyes showing. "Leave me alone!" He turned and bolted before Marcus could grab him, disappearing from sight.  
"Wait, come back," Sam yelled after him, following Marcus into the building. "We need to know where else you've laid charges!" Dom and Anya brought up the rear as Marcus sighed, shaking his head before motioning them forward and into the building.  
"Well, he was, ah, interesting," Dom said, slightly unnerved.  
"Well, whatever fever he was talking about, I hope it's not contagious," Sam said, in such a way that Dom wouldn't be surprised if she tilted her nose up and sniffed in disdain.  
"Let's just follow the pipeline, and get the pump started," Marcus said, breaking through the chatter and refocusing the group. They continued on across another courtyard and through a building, hopping down into a chamber that was lit by flickering torches set on the wall.  
"Oh god, look," Sam said, pointing as they came around the corner. Dom inhaled sharply at the sight before them- the old man lay on the ground, his throat torn open as his eyes stared glassily at the wall before him. "I wonder what got the poor bastard."  
"Well, whatever it was, it wasn't a fever," Marcus snorted, eyeing the man's body before turning to survey the area for a possible threat. Dom did the same, ticking through a list of things that could have done this- wretches? Nah, they would have seen them by now. Maybe another Stranded who was tired of the mad old man running around and threatening to blow up the whole town. It was a more probably answer, but it didn't feel like the right one, and Dom prided himself in having a pretty good sense of a situation. Whatever was going on here, it was something they hadn't faced before. They continued down into the sewers, the walls around them coming closer and closer together.  
"Close quarters down here," Marcus noted gruffly, stopping and turning to face them. "We'll split up, give each other a little elbow room. Dom, Sam, go right." Dom made eye contact with Sam, both nodding as they turned to their sector. "Anya, stick with me." Dom wondered, deep down inside, if Marcus had any ulterior motives with the splitting. It was more him being fanficul than anything else, he decided after a moment- Marcus was pretty black and white. Besides, as much of a brute as everyone liked to see him as, dark, cramped, smelly sewers were not his style.  
Dom could see Anya and Marcus as they came around a corner and stepped into a passage below them. He spotted a lone figure crouched at the end, maybe a woman, her hands near her face and low groans coming from her throat.  
"Ma'am, are you alright," Marcus asked, as he and Anya cautiously approached her. For all they knew, she'd been the one to off the old man. "Who did this?"  
It was a still, tense moment, time slowing to a crawl as the lady lifted her head to look at them. Dom's eyes widened as he caught the yellow glow of imulsion, of sickness and infection, a growl escaping her throat as she got to her feet.  
"She's lambent," Sam yelled, sounding as surprised as Dom felt. "It's spreading to humans!" The revelation seemed to draw more out of the woodworks, as Marcus quickly finished off the one before them as she launched at him and Anya. Dom couldn't watch much more, as a lambent human came running down the walk at him with arms stretched out. He fired into the creature and downed him as another came running, and another behind that, screams and bullet chatter filling the air.  
"Marcus, they're everywhere," he shouted down to the other man, fighting his way through the horde.  
"We gotta find a way out of here," Marcus instructed from below, the sound of his chainsaw revving reverberating through the air. "Go, move!" They ran through the passage ways, shooting their way through waves of Lambent humans. Dom realized grimly that he finally knew exactly why the town had been so empty of life.  
Finally, they found a moment of reprieve, as they found a way to escape the hellish nightmare of the sewers. "Is that what we're going to become," Sam asked, her voice full of dread. "Former humans?"  
"It was my great idea to come here," Dom said, hating how miserable he sounded but unable to help it much. This place was just oppresive. "Sorry Marcus."  
"It's just as well that we did," Marcus said, as close to comforting as Marcus usually got. "Now we know the whole human race could go Lambent if we don't do something about it." It made Dom feel a bit better, more than Marcus' brisk analysis might have done for anyone else, but it still wasn't a lot. They climbed out into the open hair, a cool breeze caressing Dom's cheek softly as he inhaled the fresh, sweet air. He hated sewers, and small, cramped places. If they could avoid doing that again, he'd do anything they asked of him.  
They came into another courtyard, and Dom realized he knew this place- they were close to the church. He felt sick, and it must of shown, because Sam was at his elbow, asking if he was alright. He nodded as he leaned against the crumbling fountain, looking up to where he knew the belltower of the church would be. He knew it wasn't the time nor the place, but he suddenly needed to go there, to find his wife's family and say sorry. To apologize for not protecting Maria, for not protecting the kids, and to maybe find some closure.  
"We got more lambent," Anya shouted suddenly, drawing their attention to the courtyard. The lambent were moving in from the dar side, forcing the Gears to back up into the steps of what had once been the town hall.  
"Hey! Over here!"  
The group looked up and spotted a lone figure waving to them frantically from atop the balcony above, thin and forlorn against the stone behind them. "Can you get to the machine gun? It's fully loaded!" the figure called in a voice that was definitely female, and that tugged at something in Dom's memory. He couldn't tell much about her except that she was thin and had inky, short hair that barely brushed her shoulders. That was all he could get before she looked over her shoulder and moved away from the balcony, disappearing from view. Dom glanced at Marcus- something about the female had gotten to him too, he could see it in the way his brow furrowed, hear it in the small "huh" that escaped his lips.  
It wasn't hard to find the machine gun, sitting in the open like a christmas present, and soon they were blasting through the ghostly, glowing hordes of gaunt human shapes. Dom was sure he'd have nightmares about those figures for ages to come, about how they just disintegrated in a puff of smoke when shot at. The machine gun definitely helped them mow through the wave of ghouls, and Dom found himself falling into the old rhythm of aim, pull, breath, aim, pull, reload. Before he knew it, the courtyard had been cleared.  
"Hey, quick," the girl from before called, kicking down the ladders. "Get up here!  
Dom followed Sam up, pulling the ladder in behind him before joining her inside. Anya and Marcus were already in there, and staring at the balcony like... well, like they'd seen a ghost. Anya was pale, her mouth opened in an o of surprise, and even Marcus looked like he'd had one pulled over on him. He turned to see what they were looking at, and instantly understood why.  
The silence that fell over them was heavy and palpable, charged with shock and... fear? Dom couldn't tear his eyes away from the girl, but he was sure Marcus and Anya were feeling the same things as him. He almost couldn't believe it, and didn't dare to hope, although he'd never known any other female with such dark hair and such clear, icy eyes.  
"Allena," Anya finally said, her voice small and hesitant as it broke the silence. The girl only stared at them, eyes wide open in surprise, her mouth opening and closing several times before she just nodded in stunned disbelief. "Oh, my god...."  
"Is it really you?" Dom found his voice, pushing past the statue that was Marcus to the bottom of the steps. Upon closer inspection, there was no mistaking who she was- she had developed a slight tan, and she was scrawnier now than she had ever been, but he recognized those eyes, and the scar that sat high on her cheekbone. "How are you alive?" She only stared wordlessly, her eyes fixed on Dom as he took a hesitant step closer. With her on the platform of the balcony, she was very nearly the same height as him. She searched his face, a plethora of emotions dancing across her features faster than he could read them.  
"Are you hurt," Marcus asked, without missing a beat. Her gaze drifted to him, and she seemed to find herself again, straightening up as she shook her head.  
"I'm alright," she said, then glanced at them. "What about you? Did those things touch you at all?"  
"We're okay," Anya confirmed, her voice still shaky from shock. Dom couldn't help but stare at Allena, still unable to believe it. Allena was here, she was alive and real and here in front of them. How she had survived, he couldn't figure out, but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.  
"We need to get out of here," Allena said, turning to Marcus. She'd shaken off some of the surprise, although her eyes still had a vaguely shell-shocked look to them. "That was one of the worst attacks this week. If you guys hadn't been here..." Her words trailed off, the implication clear. Dom realized she wasn't just trembling from shock- there was relief, too, the kind that came with knowing there was a chance to survive after the odds seemed stacked against you, the kind that Dom was intimately familiar with.  
"Are there any other survivors," Sam asked, unphased by the familiarity the others shared with this stranger. Allena averted her gaze to her worn, scuffed boots, shaking her head.  
"Just me," she confirmed, her voice tight. Dom felt a pang of pity for her- just what had she gone through, the past 18 months? He rested a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. Her shoulder was tense under his hand, but she didn't shrug him off.  
"Let's go," he said softly, squeezing gently to reassure her that everything would be okay. She nodded and gave him a ghost of a smile, and he realized he couldn't find any traces of the girl he'd met what seemed like a lifetime ago. She held her pistol steady in her hands and nodded to Marcus, alert and ready to take orders.  
"Alright, let's finish this job and get back," Marcus said after a moment. He gave Dom a brief look, one that said they'd need to talk later, before motioning for them to fall into position behind him. Allena fell into place behind Sam, as if she'd been with them the whole time, and Dom could only wonder at where their friend had been all along.


	2. Ave Maria

The past few days had felt like a surreal nightmare for Allena, and the current events had her feeling more and more like she'd been stuck in a dream for a very long time. Dom, Marcus, Anya, all here with her, saving her from the hell she'd been enduring, appearing like guardian angels from thin air. She didn't recognize the female in front of her, and part of her yearned to know what had become of Cole and Baird, but now wasn't the time for catching up, and she still didn't quite trust that this was all real. 

"Can you fill us in on what's happened here," Sam asked, glancing back at her. She blinked once, taking a moment to process the request, then trying to find a place to begin.

"We thought it was just rust lung," she finally said, as they went back outside. "But it got far worse than anything we'd ever seen before." She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to quell the rise of emotions that suddenly came over her. She could feel Dom's eyes boring into her, but she kept her eyes trained straight ahead, pushing everything away. "We tried to help, but in the end, as they began to go mad, all we could do was lock them up somewhere safe, hope we could figure out what was happening and try and prevent a spread." She noticed they had all fallen silent, listening to her. She exhaled shakily, then shook her head. "It didn't spare anyone. I honestly don't even know if I'm infected or not. I was only here for a little bit, got here just before things started getting bad, but you never know." She fixed her gaze on Marcus, who had pulled the group to a stop as he figured out which way to go. "Do me a favor," she said, drawing his attention. They all stopped to look at her, questioning looks on their faces. "If I start running a fever, do us all a favor and shoot me in the head." The silence was overwhelming; a pin drop would have reverberated in that alleyway.

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Anya began, her face pale. Marcus only nodded to her, their eyes meeting for just a second. She knew he’d come through if she needed it, and that was enough to settle the nervous ball in her stomach.

"You know where the main power switch is for the fuel line," he asked, bringing a merciful change of subject. She nodded an affirmative, and he motioned for her to take point. "You lead the way then. We've got to turn it on, then get the hell out of here." She knew Dom was staring, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him as she passed him, taking a right and leading them through the maze of alleys. They came out in a courtyard, an eerie silence looming over them. She froze as the others came in behind her, listening for any sign of movement...

Her body reacted before her mind even registered what was happening. A Former came charging at them from an open doorway, arms outstretched and ready to grab her. "Contact," she screamed, already sighting in on the target as more began to spill into the courtyard. It was a full-blown attack, forcing them to move into the center of the open space as more and more of the Formers began to spill out. It was all she could do to keep focused, to keep the fear from rising inside her and causing her to baulk. You have friends at your back, her mind whispered. You know they'll protect you. 

It still took all of her might to keep her hand steady and her aim true.

"Allena, watch out," she heard Dom shout, as something swiped at her arm, tearing through her sleeve but thankfully missing her skin. She cursed loudly and jumped away, loosing her balance and landing on her butt on the hard ground. She scrambled back as the attacking Former rushed her, teeth gritted as she tried to get her aim while fighting to keep distance. Just as the Former was about to leap on her, it's head exploded in a puff of smoke, and someone was picking her up by the collar, setting her on her feet.

"I've got you," Dom said from beside her, sticking by her side as they found new targets. She only inhaled and nodded, her hands shaking at the close call she'd just had.

It seemed like eternity before the courtyard finally cleared, the dust settling around them. Dom had stayed by her side through the whole fight, and she was starting to find a sense of security she hadn't known in a long time. 

"Everyone alright," Marcus asked, as the group assessed themselves. Allena turned to Dom, inhaling slowly to try and calm her racing heart.

"Thank you," she told him, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. He gave her a smile, and she noticed how tired he looked, and how entirely beat up he seemed. It was the first time she'd gotten a good look at him, and she could spot all the differences in his face- lines of worry, of sadness, the white hairs in his thick, dark hair and beard. She almost asked, but he didn't give her the chance to, indicating Marcus with a nod of his head.

"We should get going," he said gently, reaching to give her hand a squeeze before removing it from his arm. "Before more of those things attack."

"Right," she said hesitantly, before turning and motioning for the others to follow her. She led them up the steps to the right of the courtyard, and then stopped, a frown on her face as she found the gate before her closed. "Shit," she muttered to herself. "Usually they keep this open."

"Nothing we can't handle," Dom said easily. He and Marcus went and pulled the heavy gate up, letting the women walk through before they ducked under and let it fall shut. The pipeline sat before them, glistening in the late-afternoon sun. 

"Alright, we're clear. For now," Marcus grunted, eyeing the pipeline.

"The pipeline runs through the church," Allena informed them, noticing the uneasy look that flashed over Dom's face as she turned back to look at them. "We should be close to the main switch." 

"I'm bloody well not going to end up like them," Sam suddenly said, a grim look on her face. "I will not." She had an accent to her voice, although she couldn't quite place where it came from. Maybe it was Kashkuri. 

"You won't, Sam," Dom said soothingly. "I've got your back." She glanced back, and he nodded as if to say "I've got yours, too." She only managed a tight smile before heading up the slope to the church.

"The grubs are going to be here soon," Anya informed them, from somewhere behind Allena. "We need to fuel up and get out of here."

"Let's hurry this up," Marcus instructed, and Allena picked up the pace, jogging up the hill that led to where the pump was. They skirted around the church and into the side courtyard, weaving through a smaller gate to the back of the church.

"There," Allena said, coming to a stop and pointing.

"Dom, we'll take care of the pump," Marcus said, glancing back at Dom. Allena watched as they made some sort of silent exchange, all pointed looks and tilts of the head. 

"Thanks, but don't wait for me if anything goes wrong," Dom finally said, turning to head towards the cemetery.

"Just make it fast," Marcus said, sounding uncomfortable. Marcus, Anya, and Sam continued on as Dom went to the cemetery, his shoulders seeming to droop with each step he took. Allena bit her lip, hesitating at the thought of leaving Dom alone.

"You better come with us," Sam said, noticing her stop. She gave Dom one last look, then complied, trotting after the others. "He's gonna need some alone time," Sam explained, as Allena caught up with her. "His wife's family is over there."

"Oh," Allena said, startled. How many times had she walked past that cemetery, not knowing that Dom's family was right there? 

"Allena, you said you were here just before the Lambency started," Anya said, pulling the focus onto Allena. She could see the questions on her face- where had you been before that? How did you survive? Allena nodded, saving them from having to ask questions she didn’t want to answer.

"Yeah. Two months, I think. I lost track. But when I first got here, this town was full of life." She looked around, noting all the places where people should have been, and weren't. Her chest ached slightly, but she had long since gotten over the pain of watching a whole town die without her.

"Must have been rough," Sam said, a sympathetic look on her face. Allena shrugged one shoulder, thinking of where she'd been before that.

"As far as most places go, it was pretty good here," she told them. "We had supplies, we had people to protect the perimeter, it was safe from the outside. We just didn't have the knowledge or supplies to try and fight what was killing us from the inside." 

"We can play catch-up later," Marcus interrupted, as they stepped into the pavilion where the pump was. "Let's get this pump started and get the hell out of here." Dom caught up with them as Marcus reached the first switch, watching the other man struggle with the rusted switch before flipping out his knife for Marcus to use as leverage. Sam and Anya stepped back to let him take the second switch. Within seconds the pump came spluttering to life, belching thick smoke from its pipes as it chugged into working capacity.

"Dizzy, the fuel's online, stand by," Marcus said, his finger pressed to one ear. Allena perked up slightly at another familiar name, but before she got to ask a loud screech broke through the air.

"It's coming from the church," Anya said, pointing as the others moved to join her. They all watched as the boarded up doors began to tremble, something throwing itself against the other side.

"I don't think that's the choir," Dom commented, earning a grunt from Marcus.

"A lot of people went there when they were sick," Allena said, the blood draining from her face. "They told the villagers to board them in."

"And then they all turned," Sam finished grimly, as the wooden boards began to give way.

"We finish this bunch, and then we get the hell out of here," Marcus said, reloading his Lancer. 

"Do you think that guy laid enough explosives to blow the whole town?" Dom wondered, as he followed suite.

"What guy?" Allena frowned-someone had been setting explosives? Who the hell had gotten that desperate?

"Some crazy bastard we found when we first got here," Sam explained. "He planted explosives all along the pipeline. There's probably not enough to blow the town, but there'd be enough to put a big hole in it." 

"Dunno,” Marcus grunted, answering Dom. “We'll have to settle for slowing them down without it," he concluded, as the wooden beams nailed across the door began to give and clatter to the sidewalk. The doors suddenly burst outward, and the Formers came pouring out.

"Shit, there's so many of them," Allena said through gritted teeth, her words lost in the clatter of gunfire. Allena rolled out of the way as a Former vaulted over the wall at her, her bullet drilling a neat hole in it's skull as it turned to face her. She sighted in on her next target, steadying her hand before pulling the trigger.

Click.

She froze, her blood running cold at the sound of an empty magazine. She looked up and jumped out of the way as a Former charged at her, knocking it aside with her pistol. 

She quickly grabbed for the knife strapped to her hip, burying it in the head of the closet Former before kicking the body away from her. She ducked and dove out of the way as two others ran at her, tripping the one nearest to her. She jumped on top of it and drove her knife in to the hilt, then jumped up and dodged the other, ducking under arms that grasped desperately at her. She turned and ran for one of the giant monuments nearest to her, her heart pounding in her chest as the howls of Formers sounded right behind her. She dropped her knife as she jumped and grabbed onto the cold, cracked cement, hauling herself up and just out of reach as the Formers crashed into the base of the statue, screeching and howling as they clawed to get at her. She stuck her tongue out at them childishly, trying to distance them from the people they had once been in her mind. 

Soon the fire shifted in her direction, as the others cleared out the Formers that clammored at the base of the statue. When the last one had fallen, she climbed down from her perch, landing in the dust left behind.

"I should have checked my ammo beforehand," she said contritely, lowering her head as Marcus and the others reached her. Marcus only grunted, then reached up to contact Dizzy.

“You’re damn deadly with your knife,” Sam acknowledged, picking it up out of the dirt and offering the hilt to Allena. She bobbed her head in thanks, then gave a humorless chuckle.

.“I’ve had a lot of practice with it.”

" Here, take this," Anya said as she approached the other two women. She reached back and retrieved her gnasher, handing the shotgun to Allena. “Not much better than a knife, but the less contact you have with these things the better, right?” Allena nodded as she took it, weighing it carefully. It was heavy in her hands, a lot heavier than her pistol, but she knew how to handle it.

"Thanks," Allena said gratefully, cracking the shotgun to check the ammo. 

"What's the fastest way back to the fuel station," Marcus asked, turning to face them.

"Cut through the vaults under the church," Dom told him. "It used to be an air raid station during the pendulum wars."

"Better hope we've cleaned out the Lambent," Sam said, examining the room cautiously. Dom pointed to the entrance to the vaults- it was boarded up, but it wasn't a challenge for Marcus' Lancer. He knocked away the peices of wood to make the opening big enough to pass through, then led them onto a pathway, the heavy smell of Imulsion assaulting their noses.

"Ugh! Smell those Imulsion fumes," Dom said, as Allena threw a hand up over her mouth and nose. "Never used to be like this."

"Hey Marcus- your father thinks it's Imulsion that's killing Sera, right?" Allena looked up at Marcus as he vaulted up onto a platform, the man silent as he mulled over the question. 

"Yeah, we killed to get this stuff," he said, sounding weary. "Now it's killing us." They were silent as they went through the vault, Marcus' words making too much sense. How many good people had they lost, fighting the wars for control over the fields? How many more soldiers could there have been to help fight off the real threat, if they'd known what they knew now? Allena pushed the thought away- it was too much, and thinking about things that couldn't be changed wouldn't help them now.

"Yo, Marcus, we got grubs up on the highway," Dom called out, one hand pressed to his ear. 

"Is the tanker ready to go," Marcus asked, picking up speed until they were all but sprinting down the tunnels. She couldn't hear Dizzy's response, but from the grimace on Marcus' face she knew it couldn't be good. "Ah shit," he grumbled to himself. "Alright, leave the damn thing! Get to the pick-up." They raced for the end of the tunnel, reaching the service elevator that would take them down to the part of the vaults that opened into the highway.

As soon as the elevator touched ground, they all ran for the opening, the last fingers of sunlight splashing over them as they burst into the clean, fresh air. Allena sucked in a great lungfull of it to try and clear the stench of Imulsion that stuck to the back of her throat.

"Marcus! Come on, we're good to go!" 

Allena peered between Dom and Marcus, her face lighting up when she spotted Dizzy. She'd never figured out what had happened to him, all those months ago when they'd gone into the hollow, and it brought inexplicable happiness to see that he'd survived. Before Marcus coud respond, the ground below them rocked, an explosion from behind them sending a spray of pebbles into the air. Dom grabbed her and pulled her behind cover and grubs came pouring out.

"Boomer, keep your heads down," Marcus roared, ducking down as the Boomer let his load off into the air. He missed them narrowly, the ground shaking underneath them as the round exploded too close for comfort. 

"Shit, guess they decided on a Boomer welcoming party," Allena muttered, ducking as a Boomer fired at her and Dom, another one coming out from the tunnel behind it. Dom only chuckled grimly and shook his head, sharing a glance with her.

"Coulda been worse," he reasoned. She only shrugged, popping up to let off a round at a grub who got too close. The shotgun wasn't great on distance, so she was stuck picking off any locusts who got into range, which happened to be very few. The Gears were efficient, but there didn't seem to be any ease in the flow of locusts that streamed from the tunnel.

"Watch our flank, we got grapplers coming up the side," Marcus barked out, in full-blown Sergeant mode. Allena moved to help Anya as she disengaged the hooks, sending a full spray of buckshot into the face of a locust half-way up the wall. It fell without a sound, hitting the ground with a satisfying thump as blood oozed from what had been its face. 

"I'm getting low on ammo here," Sam yelled, slapping a fresh magazine into her lancer. 

"See if you can find more laying around," Marcus told her, as Dom moved to cover their six. 

"This used to be a watchpoint, check in the crates," Allena called out, shooting down another locust. Her shoulder was starting to ache from the gnasher slapping against it, but she grit her teeth and bore it, shooting again and barely missing a grub on the ground.

"Watch out, we've got Formers behind us," Sam called out. Allena and Anya exchanged glances, both women thinking the same thing- is it ever going to stop?

"Fuck," Allena spat out, as a Former came charging at them from the side. Her and Anya dove out of the way, the Former barely missing them and barreling over the side of the building. Allena spun and finished it off, ducking low as a grub let off a shot at her. The Formers scrambled up onto the rooftop, and it was all any of them could do to fight them off while avoiding getting shot by the locusts.

"Shit, we got glowies, too," Dom yelled, and Allena felt her blood run cold. Lambent humans, she'd encountered plenty of times before, but the lambent locusts she'd only had the displeasure of seeing once, and it had been enough to give her nightmares for a lifetime. Two stalks burst out of the ground, spitting lambent locusts out into the fray. 

"Hold 'em off," Marcus told them, ducking down to avoid getting shot before letting a round off into a nearby Former. "We gotta get to the pickup!" 

"Shoot the pods," Anya told her, before taking aim herself. Allena followed suite, firing rapidly until the pod on the stalk closest to her exploded. Just as they closed up one stalk, another came bursting right through the center of the platform, splitting the group up. She spotted Marcus chucking a grenade at a part of the wall, the explosion creating a bridge between them and the trucks.

"Run! Get to the other side," he yelled to them. Anya pushed her ahead, covering them as they sprinted for the bridge. Marcus provided additional coverage as they all ran, bullets raining down on them from the lambent and grubs alike. As soon as they touched ground on the other side, Allena and Anya turned to cover the others. Sam came over, and then Marcus, but just as Dom was about to cross another stalk burst out through the bridge, cutting him off from them. 

"Dom," Allena screamed, before Anya pulled her back behind a barricade. 

"He'll be okay," Anya ensured her, as a spray of bullets flew over their heads.

"We're surrounded," Sam called out, as she ducked to reload.

"There's too many, we aren't gonna make it," Dom called to them, looking across the chasm. Allena looked out at him, desperately wishing she was on the other side, that he wasn't alone. 

"Hold them off," Marcus yelled, swatting at a Former with his lancer. "Just hold them off!" Allena popped off another shot at a Former, then ducked down to reload her shotgun. She glanced over at Dom, alarmed when she saw him throw down his shotgun even though an army of Formers stood before him.

"Dom, what are you doing," she found herself screaming. "Dom!" He jumped down into the chasm, out of Allena's sight.

"Dom," Marcus yelled, looking down at his friend. Allena heard the sound of a door slamming shut through the sound of gunfire.

"Get out of there, jump!" Dom called up. Marcus turned to respond, but a hail of bullets brushed too close to him, forcing his attention away from his friend.

"Dom, come back," Allena shouted. Anya grabbed her before she could scramble into the open, pulling her back.

"It's too dangerous," Anya told her, holding her easily with one arm. More stalks burst up into the air, forcing them to duck from the rain of dust and stones that came down on them.

"Dom! Dom, where are you going?!" Allena looked up at Marcus, a sick feeling in her stomach as he tried to contact the other man. More stalks came up, the area swarming with enemies. 

"Dom, what the fuck are you doing?!?" She watched Marcus pale at the response he got, and whatever was said, it prompted Sam and Anya to their feet.

"We have to go," Anya said, hauling Allena after them. She realized a second later what Dom had planned, her heart rising into her throat. 

"No, Dom! Dom stop," she screamed, as Sam and Anya grabbed her and forced her to go with them. "Dom! Marcus, stop him!" Marcus stood on the roof, his back to them as they heard the vehicle tearing closer through the tunnel. 

"Dom, no!" Those were the last words she heard before a massive explosion shook the ground, before Anya tossed her into cover behind a container, Sam pulling her in so Anya could squeeze back with them. Heat washed over them as flames shot past on either side, debris raining down on the girls. It felt like eternity before the explosions finally stopped, the crackle of flames filling the silence. Allena stayed where she was as Sam and Anya went to go get Marcus, their shouts lost to the ringing that filled her ears.

Dom was gone. Dom was dead.


	3. Ashes

"That's it, we're out of gas."

Dizzy sighed as the engine spluttered, then died, leaving them sitting in the middle of a cracked, barely functional road. Abandoned buildings loomed over them on either side, ash slowly falling from the sky.

"Whoa, so this is Char? Damn. And people still lived here after the hammer strikes?" Jace leaned forward to peer out the windshield, a look of slight awe on his face. Allena wasn't sure how she felt about the man- she'd thought it was Cole, when she'd only caught a glimpse of him, but when she got a better look he was a lot smaller than Cole, and the disappointment had left her feeling cold towards the other man. He seemed nice enough, but she missed the Cole Train, and how he always seemed to know how to lighten the mood.

Allena stared out the front window, feeling hollow as she took in the shambling, crumbling city. She'd been bundled into the cab to sit in-between Dizzy and Jace, and while Dizzy had been happy to see her, a heavy cloud hung over the whole group. 

"Yup, they're in there, son," Dizzy said with another weary sigh. "But they ain't the welcomin' type." They all hopped down from the truck, surveying the area. 

"We're out of choices," Marcus said, his voice flat and more devoid of emotion than Allena had ever heard it. "We need the fuel, welcome or not. We've gotta get to the shipyard." She watched him step down the street, surveying the town before them. "Dizzy, you and Allena stay here and guard the truck."

"Is he going to be okay?"

She glanced over her shoulder as Anya, Sam and Jace came from behind the truck, whispering to one another. Anya looked up to her, a question in her eyes. She only shrugged and looked down at her boots, scuffing the toes in the dirt.

"Okay, you can quit tiptoein' around me."

The group froze, all of them turning to look at Marcus. He turned to look at them, and while his voice was steady there was thinly veiled pain in his eyes.

"He's dead, but he saved us," Marcus told them. "Let's make sure he didn't die for nothing." Allena glanced back at the others as they nodded and moved to join Marcus, Anya touching her shoulder gently as she passed. 

"We'll be back soon," she promised, and then they were off, walking down the street and out of sight.

"You got enough ammo there?"

Allena nodded, turning to face Dizzy as he came around the side of the truck. While the others had been in Mercy, Jace and Dizzy had picked up some extra weapons and ammo. Her pistol was holstered at her hip, fully loaded, a hammerburst held deftly in her hands with a hip pouch full of ammo attached to her belt.

"You injured? Hungry? Thirsty?" 

"I'm okay, Dizzy," she said, giving him a small smile. He returned it, a knowing look in his eyes.

"Sorry sweetheart, just wanted to make sure," he said easily. "Things got pretty crazy back there in Mercy." She nodded, biting her lip and looking away from him, a pang of pain in her chest. "Ah, geez, I'm sorry," he said, his voice softening. He reached out to touch her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "If you need to talk about it, I'm here for you," he told her. "I ain't no shrink, but I can at least lend an ear for you to get it off your chest."

"It's been... really hard, Dizzy," she said quietly after a moment, exhaling shakily. "I've watched a lot of good people die." Dizzy nodded, letting go of her shoulder and leaning back against the truck, watching her intently. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear nervously, unsure of how to go on.

"When did you decide to cut off all that hair?" he asked, nodding to her hair. 

"I got rid of it a while ago," she told him, running a hand through the short, tangled locks. Her hair brushed her shoulder now, but a few months ago it barely went past her ears. "It was just really heavy and hard to manage. Couldn't wash it all the time, you know?" Dizzy nodded sagely, crossing his arms over his chest.

"A'yup, can't imagine having long hair is easy for anyone nowadays," he mused. "Back on the Soevereign, well, we had running water, but it wasn't exactly warm. Besides that, nobody really wanted to take too long of a shower. Water is precious out at sea."

"Sovereign," Allena questioned, tilting her head to the side. "What's that?"

"A big ole' ship," he told her. "It's where we relocated after the COG pretty much kicked the bucket, some of us anyway. We go sailing up the coast to wherever we're needed, lookin' for supplies." He nodded to Char, looking down the street as far as he could. "We usually end up in places like this, tradin' with the Stranded. It's kind of amazing, how they figure out how to survive just about anywhere. Baird calls 'em cockroaches, but without 'em we wouldn't be doin' so well." Allena perked up slightly at a familiar name, her heart beating loudly in her chest.

"Baird, he's still alive? What about Cole?"

"Yeah, Baird's still alive," he said with a chuckle. "Although by now you woulda thunk someone woulda shot him. Cole's alive and well, too. He's probably doing better'n the rest of us combined." Before Allena could grill him further, Dizzy straightened up, one hand going to his ear. He listened intently, then cursed under his breath.

"I can guarantee someone's seen ya! Don't take any crazy risks," he said into his earpiece. He cursed again after a moment, looking up at the sky. "Damn it."

"What happened," Allena asked, feeling panic whell up. "Are they okay?"

"It’s alright, they're alright," he said soothingly. "Marcus was just tellin' me they ain't seen anybody to trade with, but I lost 'em after that." 

"I hope they're safe," she said, shifting nervously on her feet. "There are some really crazy people out there.” 

"We’ve run into our fair share of them,” Dizzy said I agreement. "Can't imagine what you've been through, though-"

"Wait, did you see that," Allena asked, putting out a hand to stop him. She peered out into the grey, ashy street- She swore she'd seen someone moving, over by the burnt-out cars that lined the street.

"What is it," Dizzy asked, keeping his voice low and scanning the area. She tightened her hands on her hammerburst, the acute feeling of being watched coming over her. 

"Someone's there," she whispered, her heart rate picking up as she prepared for a fight. She jumped when a bullet hit the ground at her feet, forcing both of them to find cover as a storm of bullets rained down on them. 

"Shit," Dizzy yelled, hunkered behind an old truck ten feet away from where Allena was. She ducked down as bullets flew over the low wall she was crouched behind, chunks of rock raining on her as bullets chipped at the wall. 

As soon as there was a lull in fire, Allena popped up, sending a spray in the general direction of the attack. She didn't hit anything, but it gave her an opportunity to see what they were up against, and it was bad.

"Dizzy, there's a lot of them out there," she called out. "We can't take them all!" 

"Marcus, come in! Marcus, can you hear me, we got some trouble here," Dizzy yelled into his earpiece, ducking down behind the car as far as he could. "Shit, Marcus, come in!"  
Allena got up as soon as there was another lull in fire, her Hammerburst brought in tight to her shoulder and her eyes scanning for a target. She hesitated when she realized all of the fire was focused on Dizzy's position, confusion sweeping over her.

"Don't move," someone said, as she felt the barrel of a weapon press to her skull. Rough hands grabbed her, a small shriek escaping her lips as they forced her to her feet.

"Dizzy," she screamed, struggling to free herself. She slammed her Hammerburst straight back, earning a grunt from her captor and her freedom. She spun and brought her hammerburst up to shoot, but someone else shoved the muzzle away and punched her in the face. She dropped to her knees, disoriented, as someone tore her weapon out of her hands. 

"Little bitch," she man she'd hit wheezed, struggling to straighten up. "I should shoot you-"

"If you can't take a hit like that, you deserved it," the man who held her hammerburst said, tossing the weapon at the other man. "Always disarm first, you moron." He grabbed her by the collar and forced her to her feet, her world tilting haphazardly. She could feel her cheek swelling, the vision in her right eye already obscurred. She continued to struggle, clawing at the hand that held her jacket. "Quit struggling," the man who held her said casually, giving her a rough shake. "I'll make it worse for you if you don't." He pulled the pistol from her hip and reached for her knife, but she kicked out viciously as he tried to grab it. 

“You’re not taking that,” she growled at him menacingly. 

“Show that little bitch who’s boss,” the man she’d struck earlier growled, edging towards her like a dog on a leash. Allena spat at him, then looked up at her captor, bracing herself for the hit. He stared at her for a second, then shrugged.

“She can keep it,” he decided. “Just tie her hands up tight and don’t let the other one near her.”

"Allena! I swear, if you hurt her-" She could hear Dizzy yelling and struggling, and fought to turn and face him.

"I'm okay, Dizzy," she called out, as the man forced her to move out from behind the wall. "Let go of me," she snapped, twisting to free herself. The man holding her smacked her in the head, forcing her face to throb and stars to shoot out in front of her eyes. 

"I said to quit struggling," he said menacingly. "That's the last time I'm going to tell you." He dragged her towards the truck, where three men held Dizzy while another patted him down for the keys. Two more men stood a small distance back, weapons trained on Dizzy.

"What're you gonna do to them, Luke," the man patting Dizzy down asked, as he found the keys. He stood up and held them like a prize, giving Dizzy a smug, satisfied look. "I say we shoot 'em and just take the truck back." 

"Or better yet, shoot him and bring the bitch back to Griffin," the man she'd hit said, shooting her a deathly look. She turned suddenly in her captor's grasp and punched the other man in the face, the hit connecting solidly despite how off-balance she was and how badly her head pounded. She sagged as the man holding her jerked her to the side, her head spinning from moving too quickly.

"You bitch," the guy spat at her, recovering and coming after her. Her captor pulled her out of the way, almost like he was holding a toy away from a child.

"Leave it," the man holding her ordered. "We'll bring them both to Griffin. Tie their hands, and get them in the truck." The man she'd punched came up with a length of rope, sneering at her as he grabbed hold of her collar and took her from the other man. He shoved her against the truck, then jerked her arms back roughly and wrapped the rope tightly around her wrists, the rough material biting into her skin.

"Let's see you hit anyone now," he said tauntingly, jerking the rope as he knotted it. He turned her around, and she spit in his face, smirking as he jerked back to wipe at his face. "I hope Griffin let's me kill you," he snarled, before grabbing her and tossing her into the back of the truck like a rag doll. Dizzy followed soon after, kicking out at the men who had forced him over and catching one in the shoulder. He scooted back to where Allena struggled to sit up, helping her up into a sitting position with his elbow.

"You're going to have a pretty bruise on your face in a few hours," he commented, as she leaned against him. "You really gave 'em hell."

"He deserved it," she grumbled, glaring at the closest Stranded as they put fuel in the truck. She winced when the truck roared to life, her head throbbing. 

"Marcus woulda been proud of ya," Dizzy said with a chuckle. "They didn't hurt you too bad?"

"I've had worse," she said, noticing the man who'd tied her hands hopping into the back. She kicked out at him, but he stayed just out of reach, glaring at her. "What are we going to do? Did Marcus hear you?"

"Nope, nothing," Dizzy said with a sigh. "But I have a feelin' we're gonna end up in the same place."

-=V=-  
Allena shifted uncomfortably, trying to move her hands and get circulation back. The rope chaffed and pinched her skin, and after a moment she gave up.

"Keep walking," the man behind her said, giving her a small shove. She stumbled forward, shooting the man a nasty glance as she regained her balance. 

They'd been led to a huge building, the only one that still stood tall against the sky. It was full of people, people fixing things, herding children around, she even saw a young boy chasing chickens, a toddler waddling after them and laughing. The people around them shot her and Dizzy nasty looks, grumbling about the COG as they passed by.

"Friendly bunch," she commented, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she returned a rather nasty glare to an elderly woman.

"We ain't got a reason to be friendly to you COG assholes," the man behind her said, giving her another shove. "You ruined our home, killed all of our families. Without Griffin, we'd be dead. He don't like your kind- you better hope he kills you quick." They took an elevator all the way up, and when they reached the top, Allena and Dizzy were shoved out into a long hallway, a single door waiting at the end of it. Two men stood on either side, intimidating looks on their faces with lancers in their hands.

"Yo, Griffin still wanna see this trash?" the man behind Allena asked, prodding her with his hammerburst. A warning look from Dizzy was all that stopped her from turning and spitting on him.

"Yeah, bring 'em in," the guy on the left of the doors said, as they pushed the doors open. Allena and Dizzy were forced into the room; a man sat behind a fine mahogany desk, his back turned to them as he looked out the large window that dominated the back wall. Allena guessed this was Griffin. 

"So, you're the COG filth wandering around my city," Griffin said, still staring out the window. "What the hell makes you think you can just walk around here like it's any of your business?"

"We just needed some fuel," Dizzy told the him, his voice full of contempt. "Our truck ran out at the edge of town."

"Well, ain't that a convenience," Griffin said, turning to face them. He wore dark shades, even inside, and held a staff in his hands. He wore armor comprised of mostly junk, and that clanked whenever he moved. "What, only two? I didn't know the COG let Stranded run with them," he said, looking at Allena.

"I'm not Stranded," she spat at him, before Dizzy could respond. "And our friends are coming to get us."

"You better hope they are, little girl," Griffin told him. "Before I decide you're wasting my precious space. As it turns out, I'm in need of a little help. If your friends cooperate, I'm sure you'll get to go right on back home." He waved his hands, turning to look back out the window. "Get this filth off my carpet and into the holding cells. Seperate 'em." Allena felt rough hands grab her and force her from the room, shoving her down a different hallway. The man holding her forced her to stop in front of the first door they got to, while Dizzy was forced to continue down the hall.

"Don't let 'em touch you, Allena," Dizzy yelled to her, struggling against his captors to look at her. "Marcus'll be here soon, just hold on 'til then!"

"I'll be okay, Dizzy," she called, struggling to keep him in sight. "Don't worry about me, I'll be okay!" With a massive shove, the man got her into the room, sending her sprawling against the floor. 

"You got lucky, bitch," the man spat at her, before slamming the door shut and locking it. It wasn't a conventional cell- it might have been an office at one point, or maybe a janitor's closet. It wasn't more than 6 feet deep and 10 wide. The door was heavy oak, with a small, barred window cut out high into it. She got into a sitting position, leaning back against the wall as she stared across the floor to the door. Maybe if she was bigger, like Marcus or Anya, she could bust through the door, but it was perfect for holding in small, underfed people like her. Besides, if they were throwing Dizzy into a similar "cell," it was more than likely the doors were reinforced. 

She turned her attention to her bound hands, trying to move her wrists and finding no slack. She sighed and leaned back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. She prayed Marcus and the others would get there soon; the other men didn't worry her, but Griffin meant business. She was familiar with him- her husband had mentioned him as a business role-model, back before everything went to shit. If it was a man her husband had thought anything of, it was someone she couldn't trust. 

She froze when she heard the door unlocking, instinctively looking around for something, anything to protect herself with. If only she could reach her knife… she steeled herself for a fight as the door opened, glaring at whoever was coming through it.

Her shoulders dropped in surprise as a woman entered, her eyes widening as she stopped in the doorway. They stared at each other as horrified recognition crossed the other woman's face. Allena felt her throat tightening, unable to help herself as she stared.

"H... Harley?"


	4. Ghosts of the Past

Harley Perry had been busy all morning. There were people to feed, animals to tend to, always the same chores to be done. Griffin had sent for her to tend to some new prisoners, but that wasn't a task she hadn't done before, either. She'd thought it would be another boring, mundane day, until she opened the door and found someone she'd thought long dead on the other side.

"H... Harley?"

Harley found herself nodding as she stared at the thin woman on the floor, her heart racing in her chest. A whirlwind of emotions raged inside her- confusion, sadness, anger. She ignored all of them, trying to keep her voice neutral.

“Allena,” she acknowledged coolly. “You’re alive.”

“You’re alive,” Allena said incredulously, an eager look lighting up her face. “It’s been years since I’ve heard from you, I was worried that you….” Allena trailed off, studying her sister’s face as her expression sobered. “You don’t seem happy to see me,” she noted after a moment. Harley averted her eyes, a pit forming in her stomach. 

“You abandoned me,” Harley said. Allena flinched, as if she’d physically struck her, her eyes widening. You look just like mom, Harley wanted to say. “Why would I be happy to see   
someone who left me to die?”

“Harley, I didn’t- I would have been there if I could,” Allena said, her voice soft and full of hurt. Harley clenched her jaw, trying her best not to feel bad about it. “You were so far away that when shit hit the fan I just couldn’t find you.” Harley only snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “I did try to find you,” Allena stressed almost desperately. “I’ve looked all over the place, I followed leads that lead me to dead ends….” Harley was unrelenting in her coldness, and after a moment Allena sat back, her shoulders sagging. “I can’t make you believe me,” she said, her voice barely loud enough for Harley to hear.

“Actions speak louder than words,” Harley replied, hating how much she sounded like their mother. She watched her sister for a moment, and then kneeled down in front of her, studying her. “You look like hell,” she noted, nodding at the bruise on her scarred cheek.

“Your people aren’t the gentle sort,” Allena said, a sarcastic edge to her voice. 

“They don’t have any reason to be,” Harley snapped back. Allena’s eyes narrowed briefly, then she shrugged.

“I guess not.” 

Harley stared at Allena, hungry eyes roaming her features in spite of herself. The last time she’d seen Allena, she’d been 10, watching her 18-year-old sister get married in the most bizarre ceremony she’d ever seen. Her mom had said that this was all normal, that it was like the wedding she’d had, but the quiet serenity was just so out of place in the world Harley had grown accustomed to. 

Allena had been absolutely beautiful that day. Her long, thick black hair had been twisted up into an intricate hair style, held into place with pins studded with crystals and an ornate silver comb. The dress had once belonged to their mother, and was a white monstrosity composed of lace and silk. It kind of made her look like she was floating on a cloud. Blush had been dusted over her pale cheeks, and her strange blue eyes had been accented with the lightest touch of makeup, making her seem almost otherworldly.   
The thing she remembered the most wasn’t how beautiful her sister had looked, though. It was the vague look of sadness and despair that resided deep in her eyes, despite the kind, shy smile she gave everyone. Harley had been young, but not dumb, and recognized the look that haunted their mother in greater force. 

There was hardly any trace of that woman left over now. She was still thin, but she was all hard muscle and sharp angles instead of the soft, gentle woman she remembered. Her hair had been hacked off, the ragged edges barely brushing her shoulders in a tangled, dirty mess. She had developed a tan, freckles and scars marring the once perfect skin. There were dark circles under her eyes that spoke of hard times, and a hard edge in her mannerisms that spoke of someone accustomed to combat. Harley almost pitied her, wondering how exactly her sister had become so far removed from the quiet bookworm she had once been. 

“I’ve got to go,” Harley said after a moment, pushing herself to her feet. She turned and left abruptly, without sparing another word or a second glance for her sister, a strange feeling in her chest as she closed the door behind her.

-=V=-

Allena leaned her head back against the wall, exhaling explosively as tears rushed to her eyes. Harley was alive, and that made her so happy, but the way she regarded her was a punch to the gut and made her feel sick. She would have rather had someone come through that door and beat her up than be forced to see her sister give her that cold, hard stare. 

She cried quietly for what felt like an eternity, until her eyes were red and dry. She wiped her cheek on her shoulder, then leaned her head back against the cold cement behind her, wishing that she could find a way to escape. 

She looked up as the door opened again, but instead of her sister it was another man. He said nothing as he hauled her to her feet, pulling her out into the hallway so fast that he was practically dragging her. Up ahead she could see two men struggling with Dizzy, shoving him through the door as she was brought down the hallway. 

She could hear Marcus talking as she was brought into the room, shoved next to where Dizzy was standing. The man kept a hand on her shoulder, holding tightly enough to hurt her. 

"Don't you lay a finger on them," Marcus was growling at Griffin, ice in his voice. "Don't you fucking dare." Allena caught Anya glancing at them, and shook her head at Anya’s alarmed, questioning look. 

“I’m ok,” she mouthed, even though she felt the farthest thing from it. Anya frowned doubtfully, then gave a small, imperceptible nod, turning her attention back to Griffin.

"You've got an hour," Griffin said coolly, turning to look back out the window even as Marcus stared him down from across the table. "Don't waste it."

"Let's go, Marcus," Anya said, placing a hand on the man's shoulder and pulling him back before he could start a fight. She glanced at Allena one more time and nodded to her, as if to say they would be back for them, before leaving with the others.

"Put the man back in his cell," Griffin instructed, glancing over at them. "Leave the girl."

"You're in for it now," the man holding her sneered, shoving her towards the middle of the room as Dizzy was dragged out, yelling obscenities and threats. The door shut with a heavy, final sound, and Allena felt a small inkling of fear well up in her stomach. She inhaled deeply and forced herself to stand up straight, even though her shoulders screamed with stiffness. Griffin slowly turned to face her, silence hanging between them as she fixed him with an even stare.

"You're definitely related to her," he finally said, a small smile on his face. "So, you're Harley's long-lost sister?" Allena only nodded. "Must have been a nice little family reunion for you." Allena remained silent, but she couldn’t control her face; her expression gave away the hurt that she so desperately tried to hide, and Griffin caught it. “Oh, but Harley was bitter, wasn’t she? Bitter that you abandoned her, your own flesh and blood?”

“I didn’t abandon her,” Allena said, in spite of herself. 

"Hmm,” was all he said, with a cruel smirk. “Normally, I don't like COG fouling up my air. However, Harley is a good girl. Hard-working.” He examined her carefully. “If you denounce the COG, I'd be willing to give you the opportunity to stay here with us. Maybe mend those bridges you burned."

"I...," Allena said, startled. Stay here? 

“It’s obvious you haven’t been with the COG for a long time,” Griffin noted, leaning back in his chair. “You think they’re going to take in a little Stranded girl just because she used to work for them? We’ve got plenty of your kind around here, girl, I can tell you they won’t.” Allena frowned- she had never thought of that. Her mind hadn’t made it as far as what would happen if they ever got back to Sovereign, or whatever vestiges of the COG were left, but now that it had been brought up…. What kind of life would she have? Would anyone even believe who she said she was, and would it even matter? She remembered Baird’s distaste for the Stranded, and knew that he was far from the only person who viewed them the same way. 

“You don’t know that,” she finally said, although she was unsure of herself. He picked up on her distress, leaning forward and giving her a smile. 

"You really wanna stay with those assholes? We've got everything you'll need here, sans all the bullshit," he told her. "What, you bangin' one of them dudes who came in here?"

"It's none of your business," Allena said, although his words brought a blush to her face. "I just..." Griffin studied her, and then leaned back in his seat, shrugging his shoulders.

"Alright, fine, I’m feeling generous today, so I'll let you think about it," he said easily. "If your friends get back on time, I'll let you make the decision then. But if they don't come back, and you don't choose, you’re as good as dead." Allena tilted her chin up defiantly, giving him a hard stare even as her knees went a little weak. She knew he wouldn't go back on his word- if Marcus and the others didn't hurry, she and Dizzy were done for.

"May I leave now," she asked, her voice mockingly polite. He waved her away, pressing a button on his desk. Seconds later, a man came in- the same from before, she presumed- and grabbed her arm, leading her from the room and into her cell. He tossed her in carelessly, the door shutting behind her and locking her once more into the room. She stumbled in, catching herself against the far wall.

She turned and sank into a sitting position, staring as the options she had turned over in her head. After a moment she closed her eyes and sighed, leaning her head back against the wall. She had one hour.


	5. Blood is thicker than water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just want to note that I mean the title of this chapter in it's pure version- the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

“Hey.”

Allena opened her eyes to find her sister standing in the doorway of the cell, a tray held in her hands. She scooted herself so that she was sitting up straight against the wall as Harley closed the door behind her, then crossed the small room and sat in front of her. She stared at her for a moment, and then set the tray between them, the clang of the metal on the cement followed by a strained silence. 

“It looks good,” Allena finally said, studying the contents of the tray. There was some kind of soup, with rice and vegetables, and a few tiny apples. Harley shrugged, looking at the tray herself.

“I made the soup,” she said. “The apples were left over from this morning.” She looked up at Allena, studying her face with a cool stare, and then held her hand out. “I’ll untie you,” she offered. Allena nodded and clumsily got to her knees, then turned so that Harley could access her bound wrists. 

It took only a moment, and then her wrists were freed, raw and tender from the roughness of the rope. Allena rubbed at them gently as she turned and settled back down, wincing slightly. 

“Thanks,” she said, her voice soft. Harley only nodded, then handed her the bowl and a spoon. Allena took a hesitant bite, not sure what to expect- she couldn’t identify the flavor of the broth, and the vegetables were overcooked, but it wasn’t unpleasant and was certainly not the worst thing she’d ever eaten. She forced herself to eat slowly, trying not to look at Harley as she did so.

“Griffin told me about his offer to you,” Harley finally said, once Allena had finished the soup. She looked up at her sister and blinked in surprise, pursing her lips before nodding. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Allena said uncomfortably. Instead of getting angry, Harley only nodded understandingly. “What do you want me to do?” she asked, curious. Her sister had seemed to hate her when they first met, but now she seemed calmer. Harley shrugged halfheartedly.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” she said. Allena nodded, trying not to be hurt by the words. “I lived a long time thinking I didn’t have a sister anymore,” Harley divulged. “I don’t know if I could handle having her back.” Allena swallowed past the lump in her throat, then nodded again, unsure of what else to say. “What’s it like out there,” Harley asked, mercifully changing the subject.

“What do you mean, out there?” Allena questioned, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“I haven’t left this place since I got here,” Harley informed her. “It’s been….. two years now? I don’t really remember. Griffin doesn’t just let anybody leave.” She caught the alarmed look in Allena’s eyes, then held her hands up. “Not like that. If I told Griffin I wanted to leave right now, he’d open the gates for me and I’d be free to go. But if you live here, you live by his rules, and he doesn’t let us go out of the gates without a mission. It’s too dangerous.”

“He’s not wrong about that,” Allena said after a moment. “How did you get here, anyway?”

“I hit the road with some friends a few years after mom died,” Harley said with a shrug. “We mostly stuck to the cities, but not everyone welcomed us. Griffin did, when we stumbled upon this place half dead, and I’ve been here ever since.” She leaned back, crossing her legs underneath her. “Anyway, back to my question.”

“It’s hell out there,” Allena said with a shrug. “There’s locusts, then there’s the Lambent, and Formers….”

“Lambent? Formers?” Harley asked, raising an eyebrow. “What the fuck are those?”

“Locusts and humans infected with emulsion poisoning,” Allena explained. “The emulsion causes mutations, and the infected are nearly toxic themselves.”

“I thought we had enough to worry about with the locusts,” Harley muttered. “What the fuck is the COG doing about this new shit? Are they even doing anything?”

“I don’t know, Harley,” Allena said, obviously surprising her sister. “I haven’t been with them for the past year and a half.” 

“Where have you been?”

“Wandering,” she said with an uncomfortable shrug. “I barely made it out of Jacinto when they sunk it, and our KR had a malfunction and had to make an emergency landing in the middle of a hostile area. Only a few of us made it out, and some nomadic Stranded were kind enough to pick us up and take them with them.” Harley stared at her sister for a second, analyzing her with new interest. 

“What happened to the nomads?” Harley asked. “Why are you with these guys now?” 

“…They all died,” Allena said after a moment, and then sighed. “Rust lung and emulsion sickness took most of them. I was stranded in a dead town when Marcus and the others found me.”

“And they just took you in?” Harley questioned, incredulous. “I didn’t think the COG was big on charity.”

“I knew them from before Jacinto sunk,” Allena admitted. “Marcus had helped me with research I was doing, and Dom….” Allena stopped suddenly, remembering what had happened. A strange, sudden sadness welled up in her chest, causing her to nearly choke. “Dom sacrificed himself so we could escape a really bad attack,” she forced herself to say, in response to Harley’s questioning look. “We wouldn’t have made it out without him….”

“I’m sorry, Allena,” Harley said softly, her words sincere. She reached out and placed a firm hand on Allena’s shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. “Was he… special?”

“Oh god, no, nothing like that,” Allena said, catching the meaning of her sister’s words. “Dom was like…. A father. He was always looking out for everyone.” She bit her lips to fight back the tears that swelled up, threatening to spill from her eyes. “I just can’t believe he’s gone.” 

“We’ve all lost someone,” Harley said in an understanding tone. “It’s hard, and I’m sorry.” Allena managed a tight smile, and then nodded her thanks to her sister. Harley surprised her with a smile of her own, letting her hand fall back into her lap as she leaned back.

"Anyway, that's how I ended up here," Allena finished, shrugging. "I don't really know where we're gonna go from here." It was a lie, but she wasn't sure how much information she could divulge to her sister. Part of her desperately wanted to tell her everything, in some delusional hope of convincing her to go with them, but she knew better. She couldn't tell her sister anything, because in the end it was Griffin she worked for. It was a bitter pill to swallow, to admit that her sister wasn't on the same side as her.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I really did look for you,” Allena said after a moment. Harley gave her an odd look that she really couldn’t read. “I never gave up on finding you.” Harley looked away, and then suddenly got to her feet, reaching down to pick up the tray.

“I have to go,” she said, her voice strained. She turned and walked to the door, pausing before she opened it. “I’m glad you’re still alive,” she said, without looking over her shoulder, then turned and left Allena in her solitude.


	6. Last Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting last week, I got busy with the holidays. I'll probably post a second chapter at the end of this week, depending on what I can get done.

Something was wrong.

Allena stared at the door, her nerves prickling as if they were on fire. Something had happened- there'd been a sound like an explosion, and then utter chaos on their floor, but now it was dead silent. She strained to hear something, anything, then cursed at the door. Dammit, what she wouldn't give for Marcus and Anya to come bursting in to get them out of here. 

"Hey, is anyone out there," she called out, the sound of a door creaking at the far end of the hall drawing her to her cell door. She realized a second too late that calling out was a bad idea- it might not have been someone friendly at the other end of the hallway.

"Shut up," she heard a familiar voice hiss at her, as Harley came up to the door. "Do you want someone to hear you?" The door unlocked, and Allena stepped back so that it could swing inwards, Harley shoving the keys hastily into her back pocket.

"What's happening," she asked, keeping her voice low as Harley handed her a pistol and a couple of clips of ammo. "I heard the explosion."

"Wasn't an explosion," Harley told her, her voice low and urgent. "Some giant bug thing came crashing in here with a crazy bitch on it's back, and they brought a whole swarm of locusts with them."

"Queen Myrrah is alive," Allena asked, turning to her sister with alarm. "She actually escaped the Hollow?"

"I don't know," Harley said, and Allena noted that her face had gone pale. "All I know is that we need to get the hell out of here. Come on, we're leaving."

"Wait, we have to get Dizzy," Allena said, grabbing her sister's arm before she could run off. Harley rolled her eyes, then fished the keys out of her pocket and tossed them to her.

"Fine, but hurry up," she said. "I'm not getting shot in the ass because you had to save your COG buddy." Allena ignored the jibe as she ran down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of the door she'd seen them push Dizzy to.

"Allena, what'n hell's name is goin' on," Dizzy asked, coming up to the window as Allena tried finding the right key.

"Myrrah is back,"she explained, cursing as she tried a key to no avail. "I don't know how, but she's here. We need to tell Marcus!"

"I ain't got my earpiece with me," Dizzy grumbled, as Allena fumbled with the keys. She tried another one, groaning as it refused to turn.

"You're taking too long," Harley said, appearing next to her as she gently nudged her sister out of the way. Alena stepped back, allowing Harley some room as she inserted the right key and turned it easily. "Here, untie him, I'm going to go grab some stuff," she instructed 

"Can you find Dizzy's earpiece," Allena called after her, as Harley made it to the end of the hall.

"Yeah, yeah," the younger girl said easily, waving her hand as she pushed through the door and disappeared. Allena pushed the heavy door open with a grunt, then pulled her knife from her hip.

"That girl related to you," Dizzy asked, squinting down the hallway as he stepped out of the cell. "Ya'll look too much alike for it to be a coincidence."

"She's my younger sister," Allena explained, moving behind him to saw through the thick rope binding his wrists. "We can talk about it later, we've got to get out of here and find the others." The rope finally gave, sliding off of Dizzy's wrists as he brought them forward to rub at the welts they left behind. Allena sheathed her knife, and then motioned for him to follow her down the hall, pulling her pistol out. Harley opened the door for them as they made it to the end, ushering them into a small room.

"That's all I could find," Harley said, motioning to the table. All of their confiscated gear sat on a table, gleaming like Christmas presents. Allena picked up her hammerburst, sorting through the pile until she found her hip pouch filled with ammo.

"I found my earpiece," Dizzy called out triumphantly, holding the small device before sticking it in his ear. "Marcus, can you hear me?"

"You're not going to get any reception in here," Harley said, motioning for them to follow her as she pushed the door on the far side of the room open. "This whole part of the building is solid concrete." She led them out into a hallway that was all windows on one side, giving them a view of the ground below. Smoke drifted through the air from somewhere below them, and she could see bodies way down below. She shivered and turned away from the window as Dizzy got ahold of Marcus, looking to her sister. 

"Where do we go," Allena asked. "You know this building, how do we get out?"

"There's a service elevator close by," Harley told her, nodding down the hall. "We can take that down to the third floor, then use the stairs from there. It won't take long if we hurry." The floor suddenly rocked underneath them, the sound of an explosion filing the air. "Let's move it," Harley urged, leading them down the hallway.

"Marcus and the others are on the way," Dizzy told her, taking the rear. "They ain't far off, we can meet up with them." Harley shoved through the door, then came to a complete stop, causing Allena to run into her. "Shit, get back here," Dizzy said, grabbing them both and dragging them back behind the door as locusts spotted them. The door slammed shut as the locusts began to fire at them, bullets tearing through the door like paper. The trio pressed themselves against the wall, creeping back the way they came. They slipped around the corner and began running as the locusts slammed through the other door, their grunts filling the hallway.

"What now," Allena shouted to Harley, adrenaline coursing through her. She had to struggle to keep up- Harley and Dizzy both had longer legs than her, and soon enough Dizzy was running next to her, even in all of his armor. "Is there another way down?"

"Not unless you wanna brave the main hallway," Harley said, pushing through the door they had come to. 

"What about up," Dizzy asked, pacing Allena. "Can we make it to the roof?"

"We'd be trapped up there," Harley started, glancing back with a scowl. "I mean, yeah, we can get up there, but we'd be sitting ducks."

"It'll give us time," Dizzy responded. Harley only inhaled, muttering something under her breath before nodding. “The others are gonna meet us up there.”

"Alright, fine, up we go. There's a staircase nearby that leads all the way up," she said, leading them down the hallway towards Griffin's office. They burst through the door, Allena stumbling over Harley as she slowed to a stop. "Griffin," she gasped, helping Allena steady herself. "You're still here."

"Damn right I am," the man spat, glaring at Dizzy. "You damn COG brought this shit here! I should shoot you right now!"

"No," Allena yelled, throwing herself in front of Dizzy as Griffin leveled a gun at his chest. Griffin growled, his eyes narrowing.

"Move, girl, I ain't got no problems shooting you both," he threatened, his voice menacing.

"Griffin, don't," Harley said quickly. "Come on, we don't have time for this! You can shoot him once we get to the roof, the locusts are swarming the hallways!" Griffin held the gun up, his hand steady, then exhaled and dropped his arm.

"You got lucky," he said, spitting at Dizzy and Allena's feet. "Don't think we're finished here." 

"Thank you," Allena whispered to Harley, as they followed Griffin out of the room and into another hallway. Harley only grabbed her hand and squeezed, then let go, hurrying to catch up with Griffin.

"What's happened downstairs," Griffin was asking Harley, as she caught up to them. 

"Everyone was fighting," Harley said hesitantly. "But... If the locusts made it this far up..."

"God dammit," Griffin growled, pushing open a door that led onto a dimly lit stairwell. "Did anyone make it out?" Harley remained quiet, looking up at Griffin with a sorrowful look. He swore loudly, slamming through a door with more force than was necessary. A dimly lit stairwell stood before them, stretching up and down into darkness. Dust showered over them as the building trembled under their feet, causing them all to cough. 

The group headed up the stairs, feet pounding against metal hard enough to fill the stairwell with thunder. Allena glanced over her shoulder as the sound of metal hitting metal sounded far below them, her heart pounding in time to her steps.

"They're coming up the stairwell," she panted, forcing herself to keep moving. Her body ached, and she could feel a cramp forming in her side, but still she kept on, sticking to Harley's heels.

"We can beat them to the roof," Harley replied, sounding a bit winded herself. "We can bar the door-"

Her words cut off in a shriek as the building jolted suddenly, nearly tossing Harley over the side rail. Dizzy snatched her hand before she could topple over, dragging her back up and pushing her up the stairs. "Get movin', girls," he said urgently, shoving them in front of him as he turned to fire down the stairwell. The building shook again, dust raining down on them as they raced to the top of the building, the screams of locusts bouncing off the walls in a nightmarish cacophony. 

“The building’s on fire,” Harley panted, as smoke began to fill the stairway. “We need to hurry!”

After what felt like an eternity, they made it to the roof, fresh air slapping Allena in the face. She took in deep lungfuls of air gratefully, still able to taste the bitterness of the smoke in the back of her throat. 

“Help me bar the door,” Harley said, grabbing her arm. The two girls moved towards a crate on the ground, struggling to lift the heavy object between them. 

“Here, I got this,” Dizzy said, clipping his lancer to his back and taking the crate from the girls easily. “Y’all two get into cover, just in case her Royal Highness decides to stop by for a visit!” The two split up, with Harley ending up behind a thick cement slab, and Allena just across the way from her behind some crates. They could see the cable car lines moving, causing a flutter of hope in Allena’s stomach. 

“Shit, here they come,” Dizzy said, his alarm drawing Allena’s attention back to the doorway. He’d managed to pile some crates in front of the door, but they wouldn’t be enough- Dizzy barely had time to dive into cover before the Locusts were pounding at the door, the crates scrapping across the roof as they pushed against it. 

“There’s so many of them,” Harley yelled out anxiously, as the locusts burst through the doorway. Gunfire filled the air as the four humans faced off against the waves of the horde, locusts screams joining the cacophony.

“We just have to hold on until the others get here,” Allena called to her, ducking back behind her cover. She ejected the magazine out of her gun and slapped in a fresh one, popping up and shooting a locust as it got too close for comfort. “Fuck,” she hissed, barely able to keep up with the flow. 

“Can you tell your friends to hurry up,” Harley called out, a hard edge on her voice as she ducked to avoid being shot. “We can’t hold this much longer, there’s too many!”

“They’ll be here soon, just hold on,” Dizzy assured them, although his voice was strained as well. Griffin shot into the masses silently, muttering the occasional curse now and then. 

“Shit,” Allena gasped out, as bullets chipped at the crates protecting her from the locusts. She ducked down as splinters flew into the air, covering her eyes to protect them from the projectiles. 

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire increased, but this time it was coming from the left side- the place the cable car dock was. The locusts fell to a new wave of bullets, screaming as Marcus, Anya, Sam, and Jace joined the fray. Allena popped up and began shooting as soon as she was clear, and the horde was reduced to bloody bits in under two minutes. She exhaled shakily as the last locust dropped, letting her sore, tired arms fall to her side as she turned to face the others. 

“Haha, I knew you’d make it, Marcus,” Dizzy called out joyously, getting to his feet and approaching the group. Allena moved to were her sister was, offering her a hand. Harley took it and pulled herself to her feet, giving Allena grateful nod.

“Okay Griffin, we got your god damn fuel,” Marcus growled, an angry edge to his voice as he approached the man. “We’re done.”

“You’re done?” Griffin asked, almost incredulously. “They’re dead! My people are all dead!” He began to pace angrily, his voice rising in volume with each step. “We’ve survived hammer strikes, the grubs, the whole damn war! And then you show up, and I lose fucking everybody!” Allena glanced at Harley, who only clenched her jaw and refused to look at her. “You fucking COG bastards! Everywhere you go, everything you do, it’s always nothing but death, pain, and miseries!” He turned and walked towards Marcus, shaking his staff angrily at him. “You piece of shit motherfuckers,” he yelled, getting right in Marcus’ face. 

“Griffin-“ Harley began, then stopped when Marcus suddenly grabbed Griffin by the collar, dragging him closer so that they were almost nose to nose. 

“I just lost my fucking brother, alright,” Marcus exploded. Everyone visibly shrunk back from him, surprised looks on everyone’s faces. “Do you hear that?! My brother! You, and your tower, and all this fucking Imulsion- you can all go to hell!” Griffin shoved Marcus’ hand away, backing up from him.

“We’ll settle this shit another time, Fenix,” he spat at Marcus. “You can count on that, bitch!” He turned and looked at Harley, his eyes narrowed. “You gonna stay with your bitch sister and her asshole posse?” Harley slowly looked at Allena, an unreadable expression on her face.

“Harley, you can come with us,” Allena assured her. She glanced at Marcus, who’s face had returned to it’s normal, stormy façade. “I’m sure we can-“

“No,” Harley interrupted her, shocking her. “I’m not going to go with you, Allena.” Allena stared at her, her mouth opening soundlessly as she tried to comprehend what her sister was saying. 

“I knew you were smart,” Griffin snorted. 

“What are you doing?” Allena asked, desperation coloring her voice. She reached out and grabbed Harley’s hand, stopping her from following after Griffin. “Wait, you can’t just- I just found you-“

“I don’t belong with you,” Harley said, turning to face her sister. “Griffin has done a lot for me, a lot more than you ever did.” She presented the words factually, without malice, but they still hit Allena hard. “My place is with him.” She gave her sister a sympathetic look, then squeezed her hand. “I’m glad you’re still alive. But we just aren’t a part of each other’s lives anymore.” She pulled her hand away, then turned to follow Griffin, who had gotten onto the cable car. Allena stared after her, shell shocked, unaware of the tears that had swelled in her eyes and were spilling down her cheeks. 

Harley turned as Griffin started the cable car, her eyes fixed on her sister as it began to move away from the building. 

“I’m so sorry,” Anya said softly, approaching her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “We… we have to get going.” Allena stared mutely after her sister until the building blocked her from view. She turned hollow eyes to Anya, then nodded her head, her movements stiff and almost mechanical. 

“Then let’s go,” she said, ignoring the concerned looks Dizzy and Sam gave her. She looked at Marcus, a pleading expression on her face. “Please, let’s just leave.”   
Marcus nodded, then turned to lead the way out.


	7. 10,000 Leagues

"Marcus, we need to talk."

Anya steeled herself as Marcus turned to face her, a vague questioning look in his icy eyes. He always made her feel nervous- sure, she was Anya Stroud, the steadfast, reliable, and now battle-tested daughter of Helena Stroud, but she wasn't sure there was anyone who didn't feel a tiny bit intimidated by those sharp eyes.

"About what?" The prompt was gruff, but not harsh, and that helped her focus her thoughts. 

"We can't bring Allena with us," she told him, keeping her voice low. They'd reached the submarine docks, and had agreed to take a break in one of the offices- all of them were tired, and after a lot of arguing had agreed on taking 30 minutes to refresh themselves- and the others didn't sit too far off from where Marcus and Anya stood. 

"You don't think she'll be able to hold it together out there," Marcus said, in a way that stated he agreed with her whole heartedly.

"She just practically lost her sister," Anya said, her voice softening. "And so soon after Dom..." she trailed off hesitantly, searching his face for a hint of pain, but true to form Marcus held it in. Sometimes she worried that all of the pent up emotion would destroy him, but for now she was glad to see him hanging in there. "We should double back, radio Baird and see if they can pick her up from the coast and bring her back to Anvil Gate. She'll be safe there." Anya had noticed that the young woman was falling behind, her shoulders drooping and her steps dragging. She seemed frailer than when they'd first found her, more broken, and surrounded by Sam, Jace and Dizzy she looked even smaller. She sat next to Sam with a canteen in her hands, staring vaguely off into space as Sam laughed at something beside her.

"We don't really have the time, Anya," Marcus began, sounding weary. He paused, then sighed, running a large hand over his face. 

"She won't make it any farther," Anya pressed, knowing they both knew the truth of it. They'd seen strong, hardy men loose it after losing their friends, their brothers and sisters, in the long, hard battle for survival. Allena was broken into so many pieces that Anya wasn't sure she'd pull through no matter what they did, but bringing her into battle was the wrong answer. "Anvil Gate can't be far from where we are, not with the submarine."

Marcus chewed over the information silently, staring past her as he processed his thoughts. She knew if Dom were here, they'd be thinking it through together, silently; they had a secret, personal vocabulary that transcended spoken word and always left Anya feeling left out and cold. Marcus' brain seemed to whir over his thoughts longer than it normally took, without the backboard to reflect questions and thoughts off of. 

"We'll see if we can get a hold of Baird and arrange something," he finally said, his cool gaze shifting back to her. "But if worst comes to worse, and she does have to come with us, don't pull any heroics." His words gave her pause, her brain almost unable to process what he'd said.

"Marcus," she began slowly. He gave her a look that stopped her from speaking, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"We're too close, Anya," he said, his voice softer than she'd expected. "We're too close to finishing this. We need you in the fight. Allena will do what she has to, when it gets down to it." Anya hesitated, then nodded slowly, feeling the tension in her neck. Allena had been in combat before with Marcus, and undoubtedly she'd pulled her weight- she never knew the full story of what had happened down in the Hollow, but from what little she'd heard it had been hell in a handbasket. She could remember Allena lying on the operating table, her back raw and bleeding as she told the doctor to give her the stitches without the anesthetic. That Allena had been stronger than any civilian woman she'd known, and she could only pray that that Allena pulled through. 

They stood in silence, watching the others talk to each other. Sam was coaxing a smile out of Allena, whispering something to her as Dizzy and Jace got into a heated argument. The smile didn't quite reach her eyes, but she did nudge Sam back gently with her elbow, shaking her head. It was a scene that could have been pulled from anywhere- a bar, outside a movie theatre, in a park, and it made Anya's heart ache for a sense of normalcy that she'd only ever heard of. 

"We should get going," she finally said, giving Marcus a questioning glance. He only nodded, watching as Sam tossed a magazine to Jace, the quartet sensing that it was almost time for them to go. "I'll talk to her," she told him, before going down the steps to where the others stood waiting. Allena looked up at her with a smile, the haunted look in her eyes betraying the otherwise charming grin "You ready?" she asked, nudging Allena gently with her elbow. Allena only nodded, her hands gripping her weapon determinedly. "Hang back a sec, okay," Anya told her, as the others got to their feet. "I have to talk to you." Allena slowed her steps as the others moved forward, Marcus filling them in. He glanced over his shoulder at them, giving her a look that said don't take too long; Anya only nodded, before turning her attention back to Allena.

"You're not coming with us," Anya began, and instantly regretted the choice of words as terror filled Allena's eyes. "I mean, to Azura," she quickly corrected. "Once we get to the sub, we're going to try and radio Baird, see if they can pick you up." Allena stared up at her, a wounded look crossing her face before it was smoothed over with a mask of indifference. 

"I won't be an inconvenience, will I," she asked, sounding extremely weary. Anya reached out one hand to squeeze her shoulder as they took the stairs up, keeping the other group in sight.

"It'll be okay, Allena," she told her gently. "It'll be safer back at Anvil Gate. We don't know what we'll face in Azura. Besides, maybe you can help Baird and the others figure out a strategy, something to help us face whatever comes next." Allena only nodded, seemingly satisfied with the explanation.

"We should catch up," she finally said, quickening her pace to catch up with the others. Anya watched her for a moment, then moved to follow suite, praying that they were doing the right thing. 

-=V=-

"Hello, can anyone read me? This is Anya Stroud, can anyone hear me?" Anya fiddled with the controls before her, trying to familiarize herself with the outdated communications equipment. They stayed close enough to the surface that she should have had a decent signal, but she wasn't even sure the gear still worked. "Hello, this is Anya Stroud, can anyone hear me?"

"Anya? How the fuck am I hearing you right now?" Hoffman's voice crackled over the headset in a wave of static, the disbelief easy to read in his words.

"There's a com system on board the submarine," she explained quickly. "Look, where are Baird and Cole right now?"

"They're here, but they're getting ready to head out to Halvo Bay," the man responded over the wave lengths, his voice slightly distorted. "Finding recruits for Marcus' crusade. Why?"

Perfect, she thought, realizing that Halvo Bay was a hell of a lot closer to where they were. "I need them to get something from us. Someone, I mean."

"You couldn't have found old man Fenix that quickly."

"It's not Adam," she said, almost hissing the words into the headseat so that Marcus wouldn't hear. "It's a young woman named Allena Duke."

The crackle of static filled her ears, causing her to fear that the connection had been lost. Long seconds ticked by, before Hoffman finally spoke again.

"Allena Duke," he responded with a low whistle. "She's still alive?"

"Yes, she's alive. We found her in Mercy," she told him. "We need Baird and Cole to get her. She's not... she's not doing so well right now. Taking her into Azura would be just as good as killing her. We can meet them in Halvo Bay, if they haven't left yet we should be able to get there at the same time as them."

"Are you sure about this, Anya," Hoffman asked, his words hesitant. "It might not be any safer in Halvo Bay for her."

"I wouldn't ask if... You'll understand when you see her, okay?" Anya told him. "Giving her to Baird and Cole would be better for her than taking her to Azura. They can keep her safe better than we can."

"If you think it's for the best, then I'll let them know," Hoffman finally said. 

"Thank you. Let them know we'll be there soon," she assured him. 

"Whatever you say." Those were the last words she heard from him before the connection cut out, static filling the line. She switched the equipment off to conserve power, heading back to where Allena and Sam sat waiting. 

"I don't really like flying," Allena was saying, fidgeting slightly in her seat. Anya recognized the movement; it was the adrenaline making her jumpy, the rush of having to fight and run still flowing through her veins. She took a seat across from them, listening quietly as the two other women spoke. "The first time I ever rode in a King Raven, I ended up in a hospital."

"I dunno," Sam said with a sigh, leaning back in her seat. "I just don't like being cooped up like this, ya know? It's so confined in here, and I feel like the water could crush us at any moment. In the air I feel free."

"Free to fall out, maybe," Allena muttered under her breath, drawing a laugh from Sam.

"You've got me on that one," she said, a wide smile crinkling her tanned face. "But I'd rather fall than drown." Sam looked up at Anya, nodding her head at her. "What about you? How do you prefer to go?"

"Whichever way gets me to where I'm going fastest," Anya responded after a moment. "King Ravens are the fastest, so I guess I prefer those, but I don't mind driving as long as it's a smooth ride." All three nodded, knowing that she didn't mean smooth as in the condition of the road. "I got a hold of Colonel Hoffman, he said Baird and Cole are heading to Halvo Bay. We should be able to get there within a few hours and meet up with them."

"Halvo Bay," Sam repeated with a low whistle. "Wasn't that place destroyed when this all began?"

"Apparently Baird knows something about Halvo that we don't," Anya said with a shrug. "I still have to tell Marcus, but I thought I'd let you know first." Allena nodded silently, a pensive look on her face. 

"Why don't I tell Marcus," Sam volunteered, getting to her feet. "I need to stretch my legs anyway." Before Anya could respond, Sam and taken off, leaving the two women alone. 

"How's he been doing," Allena finally asked, looking up at Anya with probing, crystal clear eyes. She realized that her eyes were almost like Marcus', and it made her uneasy. “Baird, I mean.”

"He's been alright," Anya told her, unsure of what the woman wanted to hear. Allena nodded, shifting her eyes down to stare at her boots. "You know... He looked for you." Allena froze, her shoulders stiffening visibly before she raised her eyes to meet Anya's. She only raised an eyebrow, struggling to find words. Anya spared her from the obvious struggle, leaning forward.

"He had me keep a look out for anyone matching your description, had me questioning every scouting group that came back." Allena only stared at her, her face unreadable. "He was mad at me for a long time," Anya added a bit ruefully, giving her a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry about Jacinto, Allena. I didn't mean to leave you behind."

"I told you to go," she said, shrugging one shoulder. "If Baird wants to be mad at someone about that, he can be mad at me." A long silence stretched between them, both staring at each other uneasily. "What happened anyway," she finally asked. "After Jacinto, I mean. How did you all end up on Sovereign?"

"Things got bad, Allena," Anya said with a long sigh. "Real bad. Prescott went missing; we were scrambling for somewhere we could go... Somewhere safe." Anya shook her head, pursing her lips. "Most of what was left of the COG was left to wander the sea, only stopping long enough to drop off scouts to search for supplies and trade with the Stranded." She looked up at the bulk head with a distant look in her eyes, seeing something far beyond the steel before her. "I guess, in a way, we were stranded too."

"The locust don't discriminate," Allena noted ruefully, drawing Anya's eyes back to her. "I'm glad I found you guys." Anya reached out and took Allena's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm glad you found us, too," she said, her words sincere. Allena smiled, her face softening. 

"Now we just have to end this," Allena said softly, turning her head to stare out the window of the submarine and out into the inky blackness. Anya let go of her hand to turn and stare as well, wondering what would happen to them in the next couple of hours.


	8. Homecoming

Allena stood on the smooth hull of the submarine, one hand raised to shade her eyes as she scanned the beach. She could see four figures standing just out of the tideline, the biggest of the group raising a hand to wave at them. She focused on her breathing, trying to keep at bay the nervous anxiety that suddenly twisted in her stomach and made her feel sick.

"That's them, alright," Anya said, sounding relieved. "Now we just have to figure out how to get you over there." They had gotten lucky- the water here was deep, deep enough to bring the submarine close to shore. However, there was still 40 feet in distance between Allena and the beach.

"I'll swim it," she finally said after a moment, reaching down to holster her sidearm. "It's not far."

"Hey, wait," Anya said quickly, snatching her arm before she could jump. "It could be dangerous, we don't know what's in the water." Allena frowned, then nodded, staring across the distance thoughtfully.

“Did somebody order a raft,” Sam called up to them, appearing in the porthole. She tossed a cube to Anya, then climbed the rest of the way up. “Looks like you’re going in style,” she said to Allena as she helped Anya prepare the device. “This thing has a little motor and everything.” They hooked it to the side of the sub, just above water level, and then Anya pulled the chord. The cube unfolded, forming into a raft after only a few minutes.

“Damn, those are nice,” Anya said approvingly. 

“Let’s just hope we don’t need it on our trip, this was the only one we had down there,  
Sam said lightly. She saw the concerned look that crossed Allena’s face and held her hands up, shaking her head. “Oh no, you don’t,” she said, before the other woman could protest. “You’re taking this raft. We won’t need it.” Allena frowned doubtfully, then nodded reluctantly.

“Alright, Allena, this is it.” Allena turned to face the two, a sudden, unexplainable pang of sadness hitting her. She’d grown accustomed to the two women, and it was hard having to say goodbye so soon. She was tired of goodbyes. 

“You two stay safe and kick ass,” she finally said. Sam smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

“You do the same,” she said. “And give Baird a good kick in the ass if he acts like a miserable child.”

“I’m sure she’ll have plenty of opportunity for that,” Anya joked, pulling a grin from Allena. She inhaled, then nodded, signaling she was ready. The two women helped her climb down into the raft, ensuring she didn’t slip and fall into the water. They unhooked the raft, and then Allena turned on the motor, turning the raft and heading for shore. She glanced back one last time, waving before turning to focus on her new destination.

Cole went out to meet her, pulling the raft in close so she could cut the motor and jump out. The water was cold, but only came up to her knees. "Allena! I'm so glad to see you're alright, baby," he crowed enthusiastically, a wide grin on his face as he threw an arm around her shoulders. She managed a real smile for him, relief flooding her heart as she huddled in close to Cole, the man's mass serving as an anchor against the waves. He examined her face once they reached the shore, the water lapping at their heels gently. "Damn, who hit you?" He ran a thumb gently over her bruised cheek, causing her to wince a bit.

"Don't worry about it," Allena said with a rough smile, trying hard not to think about Char. "I hit him back."

"That's our girl," Cole said with a laugh, patting her shoulder. "I knew you'd make it back to us, baby, the Cole Train always had faith in you!"

"I see you finally decided to join the party," Baird snorted, as they stepped out of the water and onto the sand. She stared at him as she stepped away from Cole, wrinkling her nose at his words. He stared back, his blue eyes scanning her figure with ruthless efficiency. She was surprised when his jaw clenched a little, a displeased look crossing his face. It was brief, gone in a heartbeat, but she noticed it. She averted her eyes after a moment, but could feel the intensity of his stare burning into her for a long while afterwards.

"Play nice, Baird," Cole said with an easy chuckle, before steering her to their left. "Allena, this is Clayton Carmine," he told her, indicating the tall, helmeted man to the right of Baird. She gaped at him as the name seeped into her mind, her mouth dropping open slightly as she tried to find words.

"Carmine," she finally managed, exhaling as the words left her mouth. This man was as far from Ben as she could imagine- he was built, an intimidating mass that towered over her, graffiti scrawled over his armor in white paint. He watched her almost quizzically as she stared, and it took a moment for her to regain her senses. "It's... nice to meet you," she finally said, sticking out her hand. 

"Likewise," he responded, reaching out to shake her hand. His grasp was surprisingly gentle, even as his palm engulfed her hand. 

"This is Garron Paduk," Cole said, indicating the white-haired man on the other side of Baird. "He's a friend of ours from waaaay back in the day." He was tall, older than the others, and the right side of his face and his right arm were covered in horrendous scars. She looked him in the eye so as not to stare at the scarring, reaching her hand out to him. He hesitated, then reached out to shake, an odd look on his face.

"You are bringing a civillian woman into this?" he questioned, looking at Baird. "I thought you had more brains than that, lieutenant."

"Stop calling me that," Baird snapped irately. "She might not look like much, but she's been in battle before. She can handle herself." Paduk only grunted, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, she bitches a hell of a lot less than you do."

"We should probably get going," Clayton interjected, before Paduk and Baird could get at it. "We still gotta get our ship."

"Ship?" Allena quirked an eyebrow, a small frown touching her lips. "You wanna fill me in on what's going on?"

"We need a ship so we can meet Marcus and the others in Azura, and our friend Paduk here says he has one we can borrow," Cole explained, as the group set off. "We just gotta go get it."

"How far is it anyway, Paduk," Baird asked, glancing over his shoulder to the other man. He only shrugged his giant shoulders, then bobbed his head towards the city. 

"Not very far," was all he told them. "We would be there quicker if you didn't ask so many questions." Allena decided she liked the man, although he came off as a bit standoffish. "We can recon the warehouse up ahead for supplies before we continue our journey.”

“Busy trip so far?” Allena asked, falling into step behind Baird, with Carmine and Cole behind her.

“You bet your ass it was,” Carmine confirmed. “There were a shit ton of locusts just waiting for us to find them.”

“It was almost like Christmas,” Cole added with a chuckle. “Nothing we ain’t used to, baby.” 

“So, where the hell were you all this time?” Baird asked, looking over his shoulder at her. She stiffened visibly, staring at him warily. He stared back, something angry and hurt lingering in his eyes. 

“Damon, now might not be the best time for this conversation,” Cole said, noticing her reaction. 

“Well, why the hell not,” he asked, stopping and turning to face her. She pulled up short, Cole and Carmine nearly bowling into her. “She just dropped off the face of the earth, and then suddenly reappears, and we’re not going to question where the fuck she ran off to?”

“Why does it matter,” she found herself saying, the words sounding as distant and detached as if someone else had said them. Baird’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing as he stared her down. She held her ground, her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She tilted her head up almost defiantly, willing herself not to look away. Here he was, the person she had thought about the most in the past 18 months, and she refused to be cowed by him.

“Can we finish this little spat once we get inside?” Paduk interrupted, reaching out to grab Baird by the shoulder. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t prefer to be exposed here like sitting ducks.” Baird stared at Allena for a moment longer, then shrugged Paduk’s hand off his shoulder, turning around.

“Fine,” he said, displeased. “But we will finish this.”

“Fine,” she responded evenly, even as her heart raced at a thousand miles per second. The short trip to the warehouse was silent, and as soon as the door shut behind them Baird rounded on her again. Cole stood by her elbow, giving off a silent support she could only appreciate. “What do you want to know,” she found herself asking, braver than she felt. 

“What the fuck happened to you,” he asked immediately. “Why the hell did Anya leave you behind?”

“I made her, Baird,” she said pointedly. He blinked, disbelief and doubt in his eyes for a fleeting second. “There was only room for one more person on the King Raven we found, and I made her go without me. It wasn’t Anya’s fault.” She glanced up at Cole, who had a worried expression on his face. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but my own,” she assured him, before returning her attention to Baird. 

“Why didn’t you contact us sooner, then?” he asked, back on the offensive. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t call, mom,” she shot at him sarcastically. “It’s not like I could just pick up a phone or write a letter or… or whatever you expected of me. Why does any of this matter, anyway?”

“Because we fucking looked for you,” Baird exploded, the pent-up emotions bursting forth. He was livid, she could see that, but underneath there was also sadness and regret and something that could have been fear, if it had been anyone else. “We combed all of fucking Sera for you, and we couldn’t find you. And then, just when we accepted you were dead and never coming back, you just decide to randomly show up.” The words were bitter, and made her heart ache. 

“I didn’t mean to just disappear,” she said after a moment, her voice soft. “But I had my own shit to take care of. I found… I found my sister,” she told him, lowering her eyes for a second. Thinking of Harley made tears rush to her eyes, and she didn’t want to cry in front of him right now. “And you know what? I was already dead to her, and she left me behind.”

“Damn,” Cole said behind her, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Allena.”

“I don’t want you to be,” she said, not unkindly. “I figured I was already dead to you, before that.” She fixed Baird with a calm, even stare, willing her voice not to shake. “Running into Marcus and… and Anya was luck.” She had to force herself to swallow Dom’s name, to avoid the ache it would bring her. “I would have come back sooner if I could,” she added, almost desperately wanting him to believe her. Baird only stared at her, his walls up and blocking her from seeing how he was feeling. She felt raw and suddenly tired, her shoulders sagging slightly. “So, there. Is this still important right now?”

“No,” Baird said after a moment, his voice dismissive. Carmine moved past her to join Paduk as he went to explore the building, and after a second Cole moved to follow. Baird gave her one last look that she couldn’t read, and then turned to follow Cole. She found herself moving without thinking about it, reaching out to grab his hand. He stopped, glancing down at her with one eyebrow raised. A thousand different thoughts raced through her mind- I thought of you, I wanted to find you. The words died in her throat, and all she could do was stare up at him, her eyes roaming over his face. She hadn’t really looked at him before, and the last 18 months had not been kind to him- there were deep shadows under his eyes, and his face was gaunter than she remembered. He only sighed, then surprised her by squeezing her hand before letting go. 

“Come on,” he said, his voice gruff as he turned to head up the stairs. “Let’s get this shit over with.”


	9. Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how awkwardly this chapter ends. Originally it was much longer, but I broke the chapter up into two chapters and that was the best place to do it at. I might rewrite it later to make it less awkward but I figure spending a week and a half staring at it and finding no better solution was long enough for me to wait to post it.

Baird had to force himself not to look over his shoulder every five minutes.

When Hoffman had told him the plan, he'd thought it was some sick, cruel joke being played on him. He couldn't say he didn't deserve it- he'd been an ass the past couple of months. Well, maybe longer than that, but that was more than he cared to admit to. It wasn't until the submarine had come up, and Allena had stepped out onto the deck, that he finally started to believe this was real.

Of course, part of him still couldn't grasp that she was really alive.

She looked like a completely different person. Hell, if it hadn’t been for her eyes, she could have been any non-descript Stranded woman. She still had that thousand yard, laser-beam stare that could almost rival Marcus’, although there was something in them that made her look extremely sad. He had been angry, when he’d first seen her, but after leaving the warehouse he felt a strange sort of calm. She was alive, and it made him more glad than he cared to admit. 

“We left some explosives in the police station,” Paduk said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“And we’re getting explosives here…. Why?” he asked, glancing at the other man.

“Well, I asked myself,” Paduk said, falling into step beside him, “what would you do to get that boat down?” He heard Allena snicker snidely behind him, causing him to roll his eyes.

“Keep laughing, princess,” he grumbled. “You have enough to bring down an entire building?”

“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” came the reply, which severely grated against Baird’s nerves. He reminded himself to keep an eye out for anything they could use in case Paduk’s plan failed. 

“What about Sofia,” he asked as they approached a large gate, curiosity getting the better of him. “I heard she left the COG to, ah, be with you.” Paduk was silent, causing Baird to turn and look at him as Cole and Carmine teamed up to open the gate. The look on his face made his stomach twist slightly. “Paduk, what happened to her?”

“If we survive, I’ll tell you later,” was his only reply, his voice grave as he went ahead to lead the way. Baird frowned, but turned and left it at that, motioning for Allena to go through the gate ahead of him. 

“Don’t fall behind,” Baird told her, as she passed him. “I remember you have the uncanny ability to always get into some kind of fucking trouble.” She shot him a nasty glare, then followed after Paduk and Carmine into a small courtyard. She wore almost no armor, and so it only made sense to keep her in the middle of all of the guys who actually did have armor on. He liked that explanation better, at any rate, than him wanting to keep an eye on her himself. 

Paduk lead them through a small building, the group kicking up dust as they passed through it.

“No one’s been here in a while,” Allena noted, wrinkling her nose at the dust as she glanced back at Cole and Baird. “A good sign?”

“Don’t count on it,” Baird snorted. They emerged from the building into relative silence, which was broken a second later by the telltale whistle of a mortar.

“Mortar,” Baird called, as they all scrambled for cover. He gave Allena a smug look as she slid into place next to him. 

“Don’t say it,” she growled at him through gritted teeth, raising her pistol and aiming down the street as gunfire rained down on them. There was a pair of troikas on a raised pavilion ahead of them, blocking their path.

“Take out that troika team,” he called out to Cole, who nodded and shifted his attention to the troikas. Together with Paduk, they cleared the pavilion in a matter of seconds, each man taking up position behind one of the turrets and providing them with covering fire. Within minutes, they had cleared the street, regrouping just below the pavilion.

“Let’s go, before more of them find us,” Paduk warned, motioning for them to follow him. The group fell into line behind him, with Allena ending up between Cole and Baird. 

“That’s a pretty big knife ya got there,” Cole commented as they walked, indicating the hunting knife she had strapped to her hip. “Don’t tell me our girl’s gone all Commando on us, huntin’ Locusts and shit.” Allena was silent for a moment, her shoulders squared.

“Hunting something,” was all she said in response, causing Cole to give Baird a worried glance. Baird only shrugged- how the hell would he know? It was a question for later.

“Up here,” Paduk said, leading them up a set of worn stairs. He motioned for Carmine to help him; together, the two men managed to break down the door.

“Shit, contact,” Carmine called out, as something shot out of the room and into the sunlight. “Wretches!” They all backed away from the door as a small pack of wretches joined them on the landing, sharp claws swiping at them as the little monsters agilely danced around them. They were able to dispatch them quickly.

“I fucking hate wretches,” Allena stated idly, reloading her pistol as they regrouped. 

“Is that because of that one time they jumped you in that creepy warehouse,” Baird asked. 

“No, but I still have the scars from that,” she said, grimacing. “They’re like fucking rats, they always found a way into our shit no matter what we did.”

“They are almost as bad as the tickers,” Paduk agreed, his participation in the conversation surprising Baird. “When they do not have bombs strapped to them, they are harmless, but annoying nevertheless.” They proceeded through the building, climbing a set of stairs that led them into a higher section of the street.

“That is our destination,” Paduk told them, indicating the building in front of them. The ground had given out some time ago, causing part of the city to sink and leave a chasm between where they stood and the police station. A toxic looking sludge had filled in the chasm, effectively cutting them off.

“How the hell are we supposed to get to it,” Carmine asked, eyeing the sludge. 

“That truck might be able to close the gap,” Paduk said, indicating an old, rusted flatbed hanging haphazardly off the edge of the street.

“You see a truck, I see a bridge,” Cole said, moving towards it. Baird placed a hand on Allena’s shoulder, preventing her from following him. 

“Hey, keep out of the way,” he said, when she turned to shoot him a nasty look. 

“I’m not helpless,” she said, pushing his hand off her shoulder. “You don’t need to treat me like I am.” He snorted, rolling his eyes at her.

“I’ve heard that before,” he said pointedly. “Fine, do whatever you want.” She stared at him for a second, her brow furrowing as she frowned, then turned to watch as Cole finished inspecting the truck.

“Stand back, I’m gonna blow these explosives to get this baby rollin’,” the large man called back. The group retreated several steps as Cole took a step back and aimed his hammerburst; it took two clean shots for the barrels to explode, sending debris into the air. Baird put a hand up to shield his eyes, watching as the truck slid down with a massive groan and a splash.

“Like a bridge over toxic water,” Baird said with a sigh. He glanced back at Allena, smirking at her. “That might be a little before your time.” She scowled at him, but said nothing, causing Baird to frown. Why did it seem like she was turning into Marcus? 

“Okay, so we get the boat, and then what?” Carmine asked, as they headed across the bridge. The flatbed held steady underneath them, which was a relief in itself. 

“We head for Azura,” Baird responded. “If we’re lucky, we’ll run into some of our buddies from Gorasnaya along the way.”

“You have friends from Gorasnaya?” Paduk asked skeptically.

“Yup,” Baird said with a smirk and a shrug. 

“Want us to say hello to anyone for you?” Carmine inquired. Paduk only scowled, moving around the Gear and continuing down the road.

“No,” he responded sharply. Baird sighed melodramatically as he followed after him.

“Yeah…. I thought you’d say that.” He caught Allena giving him a questioning look, then shrugged, giving her a look that said he’d tell her later. They came around the building to a massive garage door; he and Cole grabbed a handle each, grunting as they pulled up. After a second the door began to roll upwards, creaking as they forced it open. “Why, Paduk, how’d you know,” Baird asked, a sarcastic edge to his voice as light filtered into the room and exposed the explosives lining the walls. Allena whistled as she followed Paduk and Carmine in, Cole and Baird following and letting the door slide down behind them. 

“Ah great, more shit to carry,” Carmine grumbled, reaching up to grab some of the explosive packs. 

“You’re one step closer to your boat,” Paduk reminded him, as they all tucked a few packs into their pouches. Baird grabbed two detonators, and then tossed one to Allena.

“Here, catch.” She barely caught it, fumbling it a little bit as she gave him a questioning look. “It’s always good to have extra, and it would be stupid for me to be carrying both,” he explained with a shrug. She gave him a dubious look, which he returned with a smirk. “What, I thought you were Miss Grown Up?”

“Fuck off,” she said primly, tucking the detonator into a separate pocket. Cole laughed, watching the exchange. 

“Watch out, Damon,” he said, patting Allena’s shoulder. “I don’t think she’s going to be so nice to you this time around.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Baird said, rolling his eyes. “Can we go now, before more grubs show up? I’d like to get our boat and get the hell out of here.”


	10. One Step Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Years!

“Fuck, what is that thing?”  
Allena could only stare, horrified, as one of the three monsters in front of her roared. They were massive, easily towering over her and built of pure muscle, sickly red flesh showing through cracked, armor-like skin. They had been moving up through the building, clearing it room by room, and it had been a relatively easy task- until now.  
“Get out of the way,” Cole called out from across the room. She dove as one began to charge, rolling and coming up on her knee as the monster slammed into the wall where she had been standing.   
“Allena don’t shoot it, just run,” Baird yelled at her, vaulting over his cover and taking out the locust that had been on the other side with a brutal blow to the head. She scrambled to her feet as the other two came tearing after her, their screams chasing her as she ran. She shot through a doorway, ending up in a sort of garage- she didn’t have time to take it in as the three creatures entered the room. She wove through the cars, her heart pounding in her ears as she tried to keep up her momentum.  
She jumped up and scrambled across the hood of one of the cars, barely avoiding the fist of one of the monsters as it smashed into the vehicle. She landed in an ungraceful heap on the floor as it roared, then rolled so that she was underneath the car. The beast smashed the front end of the car against the wall where she had been just moments before, then began to beat against the car, howling in rage.   
“Baird, Cole,” she screamed in spite of herself, unable to do nothing more than cower underneath the car. A line above her head split, dousing her in oil; she coughed, sputtering to get the foul liquid out of her mouth. She could hear gunfire, but it didn’t seem to affect her attacker as it continued to beat relentlessly against the car. She screamed again as the car began to slide away from her, the sound of metal scraping against concrete filling the air as the monster figured out how to get at his prey.   
Suddenly, the car stopped moving, bullets pinging off the car as the monster let out a feral scream. She watched as its feet staggered across the floor, and then suddenly it toppled over, landing so that its face was pointed towards her. Or, at least, what was left of the face- a couple of rounds had torn into its head, destroying it.  
“Allena, where are you?” Cole called out, sounding distraught.  
“Here, I’m okay,” she called out, beginning to crawl out from under the mangled wreck. Strong hands grabbed her by the arms and helped pull her out, Cole and Carmine allowing her to orient herself before letting her go. “What the fuck was that? I’ve never seen it before.”  
“They are called Ragers,” Paduk informed her, as he walked up to join the group. “They can only be killed with headshots.” She wiped at her face in disgust, trying to get all of the oil off of her face. “We thought they died early on in the war, but apparently some survived.”  
“No kidding,” she said, spitting oil out of her mouth. “I mean, we saw some pretty fucked up shit, but that’s definitely not on the list of things I’ve ever encountered.” She leaned back against the mangled car, pressing a hand on her chest to slow her pounding heart.   
“Let’s go, before any more decide to join the fun,” Baird said grimly, a scowl on his face. She inhaled shakily and nodded, straightening up as the others moved to exit the room. Baird stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, an eyebrow raised questioningly as she turned to face him. “You aren’t hurt, right?” he asked, his eyes searching her face.   
“I’m fine,” she confirmed. “Nothing more serious than a few cuts and bruises.” He studied her for a moment longer, then nodded, letting go of her and turning to follow the others.   
“Good,” he said, as she followed him. “We don’t need to be carrying your injured ass all over Halvo Bay. Try to be more careful, would you?” Allena only rolled her eyes at him, as they emerged outside once again. Rubble was strewn all across what could have been a town square, grass growing up between cracked concrete. She slowed down to look at a tall structure as they passed it, a large cement gear the only indication left of what it may have stood for. The words had long since faded away due to weather, the stone worn smooth.   
“It’s good to see you again, Paduk,” Baird said, as the two men walked side by side through the square.   
“I am enjoying this slightly more than I thought I would,” the large man admitted.  
“Good,” Baird responded, seemingly satisfied as they walked past the monument.   
“I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it at all,” Paduk added, raising one eyebrow and fixing the other man with a pointed look. Baird ignored the other man, turning to look up at the ruined buildings around them.  
“You know what…,” he began, a small frown creasing his face. “Come to think of it, you haven’t asked us why we need help.”  
“No, I haven’t,” Paduk said easily, shrugging his shoulders. Baird stared at him for a moment, his frown only deepening.   
“Something big is about to go down,” Cole said, his tone serious as he joined the conversation.  
“As big as the Hammer of Dawn strikes?” Paduk stared at the two men, his face devoid of emotion. “As big as when you sank Jacinto, and flooded my coast?” Allena noticed Baird clench his jaw, his shoulders stiffening ever so slightly as they approached a wall of debris.   
“Bigger,” Carmine said gruffly, beginning to scale it. Allena followed, glancing back at the three men as Paduk stared Cole and Baird down. After a moment, they followed, a deep scowl on Paduk and Baird’s faces.   
“Great,” Paduk muttered sarcastically.  
“Hey, do you hear that,” Allena asked, as a ticking sound filled the air. Baird cursed as a gunshot rang out, a high-velocity bullet chipping the corner of the building just inches from his face.  
“That’s a one-shot,” he growled, taking off after the assailant. Allena followed, Cole on her heels as Baird chased him. “Dammit, he’s out of range.” The blonde scowled as he met a split in the alley, unsure of which way would take them to the shooter. He scowled, then turned to face them. “Forget him, let’s keep moving.”   
“I’ll come back for you later,” Paduk murmured as he looked up at where the shooter had been, his dark eyes narrowed. He noticed Allena watching him and turned to look at her, startling her.  
“Uh, sorry,” she said, slightly embarrassed as she turned to follow after Baird. “I didn’t mean to…”  
“It’s the scars you are staring at, am I wrong?” he asked, in a way that told her he knew that’s exactly what she was looking at. She bit her lip, lowering her eyes. “This is what your lightmass bomb did to me, during the Pendulum Wars,” he informed her, turning his face to give her a better view. His words were bitter as he glanced at Baird, his eyes dark and angry.   
“Leave her alone, Paduk,” Baird said, turning to look at the two. Allena unconsciously slid closer to Baird, her eyes trained warily on Paduk. Tension built between the two men as they stared each other down. “She had nothing to do with that.” Paduk only snorted, then spit on the ground.  
“You’re all the same,” Paduk snapped.   
“Come on, you two, we ain’t got all day,” Cole called out, breaking the bubble of tension that had surrounded them. “You two can duke it out later.” Allena exhaled slowly as Paduk gave Baird one last scowl before stalking off after Cole, her shoulders relaxing.  
“Sorry,” she hissed at Baird, as he raised an eyebrow at her. He rolled his eyes at her, then motioned for her to go up the path ahead of him.  
“How do you know this woman,” Paduk asked, indicating Allena with a bob of his head as they picked their way through the rubble-strewn alley. “She does not look like a COG soldier, and I wouldn’t pin any of you for taking in Stranded strays.”  
“Allena’s a friend of ours. She was attached to Delta during Operation: Hollow Storm,” Cole told the man. “She’s a scientist for the COG, studyin’ the locust.”  
“You study locust,” he asked incredulously, looking back at her. “Why?”  
“We asked her the same thing,” Baird muttered, earning a harsh glare from Allena. She shrugged her shoulders, looking down at her feet as she kicked a rock.   
“For reasons that don’t matter anymore,” she said through grit teeth, obviously uncomfortable. Baird looked at her, raising an eyebrow. She ignored him, her face flushing slightly. “I’m no longer in that line of work.” The alley they had taken led out onto a wide, overgrown street, the hotel sitting at the end of it. Allena opened her mouth to say something when a beam of light suddenly cut across the opening, tracing across the ground towards her.   
“Move,” Baird yelled, grabbing Allena and tossing her behind cover as a loud gunshot cracked through the air. He dove to join her, two more beams scouting the area as locusts rappelled down from the buildings ahead of them.  
“Here we go again,” Cole called out, taking cover just ahead of them.  
“Helmets on,” Carmine growled, aggressively attacking the locusts head on. Baird switched his lancer for the longshot he’d strapped to his back, checking the scope as Allena took shots at the locusts on the ground.   
“Nothing is easy,” Paduk sighed, as calmly as if this were a normal day as he took up position in a doorway across from Cole.  
“I’ll take care of our friends up top,” Baird called out, before turning and following the beams of lights to the shooter’s positions up above. He took one out before he and Allena had to duck, a beam of light sweeping towards them. The gunshot followed seconds later, a high-caliber round chipping at the cement and showering bits over the two of them.   
“Cover me while I head for that barrier,” he told her, indicating the barrier ahead of them. She nodded, before shouldering her gun and popping back up.   
“Go,” she shouted, before shooting up at the snipers. She heard Baird grumble something, but paid no mind to it, focusing on suppressing the snipers until the locusts on the ground turned their fire to her, forcing her to duck. She crouched down low, her back pressed against the cement as she reloaded, trying to ignore the cement chips flying all around her. She looked over to find Baird taking careful aim across the way from her, and one gunshot later there was only one shooter left above them.   
She inhaled, then turned and stood, bringing her rifle up into her shoulder. A startled shriek escaped her lips as something grabbed the barrel of her gun and tore it out of her hands before she could let a shot off, a locust growling in her face. She ducked out of the way as he fired a pistol at her, drawing her knife in one fluid motion and stabbing into the locust’s wrist. It screamed in her face, fetid breath washing over her and making her eyes water; she ignored it as she drew her pistol and shot at it, her bullet firing a second too early and going into its shoulder. The locust smacked her hand hard enough to send the pistol flying, then grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground. She clawed desperately at his hand, her eyes watering as he raised his other arm. She took the opportunity to reach out and grab her knife, pulling it out of his wrist with one swift, hard jerk, and then buried it into the eye of her captor. He screamed again, staggering, his hand tightening around her throat momentarily before he fell, flinging her onto the rough ground.   
She lay on her back in the dirt, gasping for air, vaguely hearing the others shout for her. Seconds later someone was helping her sit up, and Cole was kneeling in front of her, his fingers probing her neck in a way that made her flinch in pain.   
“Are you okay, Allena,” he asked, his voice gaining volume as if someone were turning a radio on. She nodded stiffly, the movement causing her to wince as she struggled to regain her breath. “Hold still now, lemme check this out.” She tried to stop moving as he poked and prodded, her discomfort showing clearly on her face.   
“I think I’ll be fine,” she croaked out, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. She forced herself to swallow, the movement causing pain but otherwise meeting no resistance.   
“That’s gonna leave a nasty bruise,” Carmine commented from behind her, his arm supporting her back. “You killed the bastard, though.” She glanced over to where the dead locust lay, her knife sticking out of his eye. She grabbed Cole’s arm and pulled herself to her feet, taking a moment to gain her bearings before she went and grabbed her knife by the handle, pulling it out before kicking at the head of the locust.   
“He’s already dead,” Baird commented, sounding almost amused. She turned a scowl to him, wiping the blade against her jeans to clean it of blood before she sheathed it. “I thought you were just carrying that thing around for show.” She ignored the comment, fetching her pistol and rifle from where they had landed during the scuffle. She turned to find him watching her, looking at her throat where she was sure a dark bruise was already forming. “Let’s go, we’re almost there,” he said, his eyes lingering on her for a moment longer before he turned to face their destination- the Regency Hotel.


	11. Outsiders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus loves. I promise I won't abandon this story, but the next month and a half are going to be crazy for me so updates may be slow.

“Man, that must have been some wave.”

The four men looked up to where the boat was perched above them, studying it for a moment. The boat actually sat on a separate building from the main hotel, tilted haphazardly to one side. It hurt to tilt her head back, so Allena contented herself with surveying the front of the hotel. The doors were large and ornate, even in their state of ruin. Blood was splattered across what had once been a nice marble floor, and a rusted cage hung ominously off one of the balconies.

“The whole valley flooded,” Paduk recalled grimly, looking away from the boat. 

“What was in that building,” Carmine asked, nodding to the boat sat atop of as they made their way inside. 

“A restaurant,” Paduk informed him. “Used to be a nice place.” Baird and Cole went to the doors, grunting as they pushed against them. After a second they gave, scraping loudly across the ruined floor of the hotel foyer.

“Holy shit,” Allena breathed, her voice hoarse as they entered the building. A barricade had been built ten feet from the doors, blood splattered across the rotting wood and rusted metal sheets. Cages hung above their heads, the remains of a human rotting in at least one of them and lending it’s stench to air already acrid from smoke. A small fire smoldered somewhere in the corner, casting a warm light over the room. Torn tapestries hung haphazardly along the walls, the only testament left to what the hotel had once been.

“I figure we set one charge on each corner,” Baird said from beside her, scanning the room as he clipped his lancer to his back to free his hands. He unclipped the charge from his belt, examining it. “Unless anyone has a better idea.” He looked at the others, who only shrugged in response. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

“I assume you know how to set these explosives, lieutenant,” Paduk called out as he crossed the room to the opposite corner, pulling his charge from his hip pouch.

“Yeah I do, just get them placed,” Baird said from behind Allena, pressing several buttons on the device as it beeped at him. “And don’t call me that,” he added, glancing over his shoulder to shoot Paduk a scowl. He fiddled with the charge some more, stepping back with a satisfied sound as it gave off three rapid beeps. “Charge set,” he called to the others, just as the sound of a door being knocked down rang out through the hallway. Baird let out a hiss as Allena turned to face him, an alarmed look on his face. 

“Contact,” Cole confirmed a moment later, gunfire ringing out across the marble hall. Baird and Allena crouched down behind the barrier closest to them, drawing their guns.

“It’s always something,” Baird grumbled, before rising to shoot at a locust that had gotten close to them. “Stick by me and try not to do anything stupid again, okay,” he told her, as he ducked back down to reload. 

“Right, because I did that on purpose,” she growled back at him hoarsely, her throat aching. She shouldered her rifle and peeked around the corner, taking pot shots at wretches as they jumped down from the balcony overlooking the foyer. 

“Do you guys have those charges set,” Baird called out, using his rifle to deflect a wretch as it leapt around a corner at him. He tossed the creature back and took it out with a quick burst, just as a grenade came soaring over the crates next to them, plopping down in-between them. 

“Frag,” Allena croaked out desperately, her voice drowned out by the sound of gunfire. She reached down and snatched up the grenade, chucking it back in the direction it came from. It exploded mid-air, tossing her against Baird.

“I thought I said nothing stupid,” Baird said, stumbling slightly before helping her back on her feet. He pulled her behind him before she could respond, swatting at another wretch. “Hey guys, any day now!”

“We’re up,” Cole called out, shooting down a locust as it was about to jump down from the balcony. 

“Alright, let’s get the fuck out of here and blow this thing,” Baird called out, pushing Allena towards the door. “I’ll cover you, go!” She scrambled for the door, ducking as a bullet flew a little too close to her head for comfort.

“Not so fast,” Paduk said, grabbing her by the shoulder and throwing her back behind cover. “More coming in from the outside!” Allena peered up through the barricaded window, her heart sinking as she recognized the hulking shapes of two boomers, followed by a pack of wretches and a handful of drones. 

“Of course they are,” Baird said, frustration creeping into his voice. “Defend the charges!” Allena propped her rifle through a gap in the boards that were haphazardly nailed across the window, aiming carefully as she fired at the boomers. She couldn’t move fast enough to track the drones without her neck screaming in pain, and the recoil of the lancer was already enough to make her want to cry. She bit down on her lip and fought through it, helping Paduk take down one of the boomers. 

“Fuck,” she gasped, scrambling out of the way as the remaining boomer turned and let a rocket loose towards her position. She dove out of the way and landed roughly on the floor as the rocket impacted with the building, covering her head as debris showered down around her. 

“Allena, here,” Cole said, holding a hand out to her. She reached out and grabbed it, letting him pull her behind cover where she cradled her neck in her hands. “Just keep your head down, baby,” Cole told her, his brow furrowed in concentration as he fired at the attackers. She leaned her head back against the barricade, closing her eyes as she tried to gently massage her neck. 

“Ah, fuck, they’re scaling the building,” Carmine shouted.

“Watch your ass,” Baird yelled, his frustration more obvious as he ducked down to avoid another rocket. Allena opened her eyes and drew her pistol, crawling to the crates behind her and Cole. She gripped the pistol in both hands, crouching behind the crates and keeping her head up just enough that she could use her sites. She rested her outstretched arms on the crates, holding her breath until the first drone came into view. She took careful aim and fired at him, her rounds catching him in the shoulder and knocking him back onto the balcony. Two others appeared as the locust she had shot regained his footing; she shot him again before he could set up his rappel line, his head snapping back as her bullet found its target. She ducked down to reload, Carmine resuming fire on the remaining two.

“Backdoor is clear,” he called out after a second, sounding satisfied.

“And that’s the last of them out front,” Baird confirmed, pushing himself to his feet. “Let’s get out of here and light this place up!” Allena turned to find Cole holding his hand out to her once again; she took it, pulling herself to her feet. 

“Come on, before Damon gets trigger happy,” he told her, drawing a grin from her as he ushered her towards the door. The group emerged into the bright afternoon sun, Allena having to throw a hand up over her eyes to allow them to adjust to the bright light. He paused suddenly, one hand going to his ear as a concerned look crossed his features. “Cole here,” he said. He caught Allena’s inquisitive look and mouthed Anya as he listened to whatever was coming in through his earpiece. They continued to follow after the others s they retreated to a safe distance. “You gotta see what we found baby- those locusts won’t know what hit ‘em!” He fell silent, the look of concern deepening. “Anya, you don’t sound right,” he said, stopping and turning so that the others wouldn’t overhear. Allena stopped with him, alarm crossing her features. “You got trouble?” They shared a worried glance as he listened to what the other woman was saying.

“Hey, come on, it’s gonna blow,” Paduk called to them, motioning them over before crouching down behind a burned-out car. Allena and Cole continued on, Allena lingering by Cole’s side in hopes of catching whatever it was Anya had to say. 

“Oh yeah, we’ll be there,” he finally said, as they made it to the others. Allena huddled down next to Baird, Cole taking up position on the other side of her. “With some backup, too!” Baird fished out the detonator, flipping the safety cap up off of the button.

“Brace yourselves,” he said, depressing it as they all ducked down. 

They watched as the charges ignited, the explosions shaking the ground underneath them. A plume of dust rolled towards them, and once it cleared- nothing. The building sat as sturdy as ever, as if they hadn’t spent the last thirty minutes rigging it with high-grade explosives.

“Ah, come on,” Cole exclaimed, exasperated. 

“You better call Anya back,” Carmine said dismally, as Baird got to his feet. He studied the hotel, his frown deepening as his eyes darted back and forth across the building.

“You call her back,” Cole said defensively. 

“Baird, get out of their war,” Paduk said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Start fighting for yourself. This is pointless.” Baird glanced back at the man, then looked down, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. 

“We need to hurry,” Allena said, her worry for the group on the submarine only adding to her frustration. 

“Hold on, hold on,” Baird snapped irritably, waving his hand at her. He looked up at the hotel once more, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed it. “Alright, new plan,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. Paduk only sighed, before getting up and following after him. They headed back for the hotel, Baird kicking open a door that had emergency fire escape painted across it. He ushered everyone into the stairway, earning varying looks of confusion and concern as the others passed him. “Just go up to the roof,” he said, rolling his eyes at them. 

They began climbing the stairs, their steps ringing out against the hard metal. “Once we get to the top of the building, we can cross over and reach the boat,” he informed them.

“How the hell are we gonna do that? Jump from building to building?” Carmine asked doubtfully, glancing up.

“My question exactly,” Paduk scoffed, earning a scowl from Baird. 

“I’ll figure out that part when we get there,” Baird said, earning an incredulous look from Allena. He only shrugged at her, motioning for her to keep going. It was silent as they trooped up the stairway, all of them panting as they reached the 9th floor. 

“What I wouldn’t give for an elevator,” Baird grumbled. 

“This was your idea,” Allena pointed out, forcing herself not to groan as she reached the landing and was confronted with even more stairs. 

“How does a boat end up on top of a building, anyway,” Cole asked, scowling as he looked up. 

“The wave washed it up there,” Paduk responded. They finally reached the final landing, dim light shining through the dirty window set into the door. Carmine made it to the door first, kicking it open as Allena and Baird came onto the landing.

“Ask a stupid question,” Cole sighed, as they all filed into the room the door let out into. One wall had been blasted out, offering them a view of the destroyed city around them. Allena walked closer to the edge, a breeze ruffling her hair as she looked out at the ruin before them. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, who are you,” Baird said suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention. A lone figure stood in the far corner, a one-shot held in his hands. He stared between the newcomers, a frown on his face as he opened his mouth to respond. 

Before he could get a word out, the sound of a gunshot shook the air, the man practically exploding.

“Right back at it,” Carmine grumbled, as he passed Allena to take up position at one of the windows.

“It was a boring conversation anyway,” Baird said, grabbing the one-shot before he ducked behind a rusted metal desk. “We got snipers! Get into cover.” Allena ducked down behind a stack of crates, drawing her rifle as she peered around the crates. Three more men emerged from a back room, joining the gears as they lined the windows. 

“You know, things were okay around here until you showed up,” one of the men shot at Baird as he moved past him, his words bitter. 

“Yeah, yeah, until we showed up,” Baird sighed. “We know.”

“That’s all you got to say,” he questioned, incredulous. Baird shot him a nasty look as he ducked down to reload.

“How about ‘shut your damn mouth’?” Cole snapped. The man muttered something under his breath, but let the subject drop as he focused on the locusts in the building across from them. 

“The locusts are grappling up the building,” Carmine called, as a set of double doors flew open with a crash. A butcher stepped into the room, swinging his cleaver through the air with a malicious grin. Allena had to dive out of the way as it came too close for comfort, the cleaver reducing her barricade to a pile of splinters. Carmine focused his fire on the massive monster, letting it get extremely close to him before he rolled out of the way. Allena continued to fire at the butcher, moving back to keep space between her and it.   
Finally, the monster fell thanks to a well-placed shot from Carmine. He gave Allena a thumbs up before turning to dislodge a grappling hook that had caught in the window next to him, looking over with a satisfied nod of his head. 

“We are clear,” Paduk announced, kicking a body down a hole in the floor. “The roof should be the next level up.”

“What are you COG assholes planning to do this time,” one of the males asked warily, turning to face them.

“I would suggest you get out of the building,” was all Baird said to them, moving to help Cole unblock a door with the words “emergency exit” barely visible above them. 

“Hey, you can’t just tell us to get out like you own the place,” the man said hotly, reaching out to grab Baird by the shoulder. “You owe us an-”

“I don’t owe you jack shit,” the blonde retorted, turned and grabbing the man by the wrist. 

“Hey, that’s enough,” Allena interjected, alarmed as she moved to break up the confrontation. “Baird, let him go.”

“I don’t need your help, you traitor whore,” the man said, spitting at her. She recoiled, a look of shock crossing her face as she stared at the man. “Its bitches like you that give us a bad rap, following these COG assholes around because you’re so desperate for whatever lie they’ve fed you!” For a second, she felt like she couldn’t breathe; she had forgotten that to the rest of the world, she looked like just another Stranded, that it was obvious she didn’t fit in with her companions.

“Don’t fucking talk to her like that,” Baird growled, jerking the man closer so that they were practically nose to nose. “It won’t trouble me one bit to gut you right here.” 

“Hey, come on, he’s not worth it,” Cole said, pulling the two apart easily. “Baird, we’ve got more important things to worry about, leave it.” He turned a steely eye to the other man, towering over him imposingly. “I think it’s time for you to go,” he said, his words vaguely threatening. The man only scowled, before turning and stalking off with his companions in tow. 

“Piece of shit,” Baird spat after them, fuming. He turned to look at Allena, his eyes dark with anger. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” she managed, still stunned. She grabbed the end of her shirt and used it to wipe the spit off of her face. “I was just trying to help.” Baird reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her to face him. 

“He doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about,” he said, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t listen to anything he said, he doesn’t know anything about you.” She could only stare at him, before pushing his hands away and averting her eyes. 

“I’m fine, I promise,” she said, unable to stop her voice from sounding defeated. “Let’s go get this stupid boat.” It was silent for a moment, and then the others were moving, heading up one last flight of stairs before emerging on the rooftop. She could feel Baird’s eyes boring into the back of her head, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him as she shouldered her rifle, feeling stiff. 

Part of her brain whispered for her not to take to heart anything the man had said to her, but the other part of her told her he wasn’t wrong in his assumptions of her. She wasn’t part of the COG, not really- especially not after she’d spent the past 18 months living as a Stranded. She’d been so caught up in the joy of finding familiar faces that she hadn’t stopped to consider the fact that she might not have a place among them anymore. 

“We’ve got a reaver inbound,” Paduk called out, as a rocket crashed into the far corner of the roof. The reaver followed seconds later, hissing loudly as it landed on the roof hard enough to make it shake. Allena stumbled behind a thick pipe for cover, ducking down as the gunner sent a spray of bullets over the area she was in. Gunfire peppered the reaver, taking out first the driver, then the gunner. The reaver was the last to fall, crashing to the roof with one last dying scream. Allena stood with a sigh, feeling weary as she followed the others as they went to examine a communications tower that had been haphazardly knocked over when the reaver landed, held in place by two steel cables.

“We can use this to cross,” Paduk pointed out. Baird stepped forward, shouldering his lancer. It only took him two shots to destroy the cables, the tower falling with a metal groan and settling against the far side with a crash. 

“Let’s move it,” Baird said, waving them across. They all filed down the makeshift bridge; Allena had to force herself not to glance down, her eyes trained on the back of Carmine’s helmet as he crossed in front of her. She exhaled shakily as she jumped onto the restaurant roof, moving away from the edge. She fell into place beside Paduk, who was looking up at the massive boat.

“There she is,” he said after a moment, turning to face Baird. “Baird, what are we doing up here,” he asked, sounding frustrated. 

“Follow me down to the restaurant,” he said, moving to the double doors that led down into the building. He used his lancer to cut open the chains that held it shut, the doors slowly swinging inward as the chain clanked to the ground. “We need to find a gas line.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Lieutenant,” Paduk finally said, his expression doubtful as they all headed down the stairs after him.


End file.
